Chasing the Sun
by Scotland Evander
Summary: Jane Foster didn't mean to walk through a portal to an alien planet and get infected with some weird red substance. All she'd wanted was to understand the strange readings she was getting from the darkened room. If she'd known what would happen, she'd never have gotten out of bed that morning. *Part Five of Various States series*
1. The Natural State

**Disclaimer: I do now own any of the Marvel characters. Nor do I own Thor: The Dark World, screenplay by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely; story by Don Payne and Robert Rodat. If you know it, I do not own it.**

**"Chasing the Sun" was written by Sara Bareilles, Jack Antonoff, and Mike Anderson.**

_A/N: This is part four (or five depending on how you look at it) of _Various States_. _Deep In The Heart_ or at least_ For What It's Worth_ is highly recommended as a read before starting this to get the back story. If you want to know what's going on with Steve and Loki, _Land of Confusion_ and _Parallel Universe_. If you want to know about Jim you'll need _Parallel Universe, "Corps of Discovery." _Also, the last story in _Parallel Universe, "Possibilities...Endless,"_ is the lead into this story, so you might want to read it. If not, please do read on. _

_PS. I wrote a majority of this story before I saw _Thor: The Dark World_. After seeing it tweaked a few things, but it's mostly as it was before I'd seen it. _

* * *

**_The Natural State_**

* * *

_Show me it's real / Wasting our last chance to come away / Just break the silence / Because I'm drifting away, away from you_

_-Muse, "New Born"_

* * *

Jane knew she should not go into the dark room with the strange wobbly readings, but she was curious. Part of Jane's mind told her she ought to call SHEILD or at least text Darcy to get her to dark, creepy room with the strong readings so similar to the Bifrost, but curiosity got the better of Jane and she headed in alone, got sucked somewhere menacing only lit by a red glowing light.

That was when things got weird. Jane wasn't sure what happened, but at some point she touched the red glory stuff and evidently vanished for five hours. (It felt like maybe a minute to Jane.)

"FIVE HOURS!" Darcy screeched, waving her arms around. "In this city! Have you seen the map of this place? It's a really old city, stuck between the dead and the living! Wait, isn't that a song?"

"I don't know."

"I think it is," Darcy said, pausing in her ranting for the first time since she'd found Jane five minutes beforehand. She shook her head, then waved a hand in Jane's face. "But, FIVE HOURS, JANE!"

"I said I was sorry!" Jane shouted back.

Darcy's intern (why she had an intern was beyond Jane) rolled his eyes.

"I called the police!"

"They didn't particularly care you'd gone missing, so I called Luke," the intern offered. "Evidently if you go missing they don't care till it's been at least twelve hours. Or something, since you weren't kidnapped but had simply buggered off."

"You did what?" Jane screeched, only hearing one thing the intern said: _Luke_.

"I phoned that Luke guy Stark mentioned when I started. He seemed to think you two knew him," the British guy said, looking baffled why neither of them had thought to do this. "Things are acting very weird. He's the guy to contact when things are acting strange, is he not?"

"NO!" Darcy and Jane both exclaimed.

"Well, I apologize. I thought this," he motioned to the objects defying physics in the stairwell and vanishing in midair only to appear above their head and fall again, "might be magic…isn't that his area?"

Intern didn't look all that sorry. He was looking at them as if they were both idiots for not thinking to phone Luke in the first place.

In the rational part of her mind, yeah, Jane should have called Thor's brother (who was not named Luke, but Loki, yet they'd been told to always call him Luke by SHIELD for security reasons) who was still on Earth, but she still didn't really buy the whole story that he….wasn't insane, had no desire to take over the world, or wished to kill anyone who stood in his way of getting what he wanted. (Jane had no clue what he wanted, as Thor had never been too clear on what exactly was _wrong_ with Loki.)

And yeah, she'd met the guy shortly after Thor set fire to the rain (long story short, Thor didn't get pop music and took it literally), but there was _something_ off about the dark haired, magic-bound man who thought the rather handsome blond guy's horse had sent him back in time and to another universe.

Never mind the fact there were measurable readings that supported the fact the handsome blond, Jim Nicholls, had come from somewhere not on Earth, but that didn't mean Jane was going to accept his _horse_ had sent him.

HIS HORSE!

"When's Luke going to be here? Heck, when is SHIELD showing up?" Darcy asked, waving her arms above her head, the scanner in her hand beeping like mad. She suddenly stopped moving and stared at Jane, her jaw hanging open. "OMG. It was a line from a song! I downloaded it onto my iPod last night and listened to it on repeat because it reminded me of Captain Grandpa and Captain Hotty!"

"SHEILD has arrived, Ms Lewis," came an all too familiar voice from below them. "And I think I brought Captain Hotty with me."

Cringing, Jane turned and looked over the railing of the stairwell to find Coulson and a motley group following with an overdressed Captain Jim Nicholls bringing up the rear. Of the motley crew: two were clearly scientists judging by their wide-eyed fascination with the objects flying through the air on loop in the stairwell, one looked like a civilian out of her depth, and two were clearly hardened agents.

Darcy squeaked, whirling towards the group as they reached the landing they were standing on, her cheeks a little pink.

"Ms Lewis," Jim greeted, bowing his head in greeting while tucking his hands behind his back and standing at parade rest. "Doctor Foster. Mr Boothby."

He had really curly hair. When had he gotten all that hair? Last time he had like…no hair. It'd all be glued to his head in an old fashion hair style (hence why he reminded Jane of character who'd wandered out of a period piece). Now, he looked like he'd stuck his finger in a socket. (It oddly contrasted with his three piece suit.)

"Captian Hotty?" the civilian asked, elbowing Nicholls in the side. (He didn't move an inch.)

"Captain Nicholls," Coulson commanded calmly. "I believe you have some press to wrangle. And I think the cops Ms Lewis phoned have shown up."

"Quite right," Jim agreed, eyes taking in the phenomena a brief moment before making a tablet appear out of nowhere. With the hand not holding the tablet he straightened his tie (it was bright blue and made those baby blues even bluer) and smoothed out the invisible wrinkles in his navy blue suit. Turning, he began to tap the face of the tablet as he headed back down the stairs.

Several people appreciated the view of Nicholls going down the stairs.

"Captian Hotty indeed," the civilian mumbled.

"He works for you now?" Darcy asked, as Nicholls vanished from view. "Is Ombre Hair with you too?"

"No. Ms Witton is currently in Anchorage, Alaska as far as I know," Coulson replied. "Fitzsimmons, get to work."

The two scientists looked like Christmas had happened early.

"What's going on? What are you doing? I was here first!" Jane screeched, a strange feeling welling up in her chest.

"Trying to make sense of this," one of the scientists, the women, said. "Amazing, isn't it?"

"You just throw things and they defy gravity?" the other asked, throwing his tablet at the event. He looked upwards, but it didn't return. "Where'd it go?"

"Sometimes they don't come back," Darcy explained. "So don't throw important things. Like the car keys."

She gave Intern a look. He looked a bit sheepish.

"Well, let's try something else," the woman scientist suggested, picking up some trash and tossing it over the railing.

The can reappeared above their heads and began to fall in the loop with the other things in the loop.

The civilian looking girl began to hum.

"Yeah, I sung that song too," Darcy chuckled. "Who are you lot? Well, other than clearly SHIELD agents."

"I'm Skye," Humming Girl said. "He's Agent Ward, that's May, I think you know Coulson, and the two science geeks are Fitz and Simmons. The hunk who just left you seem to know."

"OH! They're two separate names!" Darcy exclaimed. "I'm Darcy! She's Jane and he's Intern."

"Ian," Intern corrected.

"And we met Jimmy waaaaaaaaaay back," Darcy finished, ignoring Ian the Intern. "Oh, the stories we shared! He's a captain who had horse and has awesome hair now that he's not glueing it to his head and he's—"

"Ms Lewis," Coulson warned, before turning to Jane and eyeing the scanner still in her hand. "Did you discover anything while you've been here, Dr Foster?"

Jane hid the scanner behind her back out of habit, then glared at Darcy's, whose scanner was still beeping like mad as she didn't know how to use mute. "No, not really."

"And you're hiding your scanning device because?"

"You tend to steal my things," Jane replied.

"Except that time you showed up after we set fire to some rain and gave her a new, shiny, Stark tricked out lab in LONDON! I live in London now! And: _It's a really old city, stuck between the dead and the living!" _Darcy sung out.

"You know that song's about New York, right?" Skye asked.

"Well, yeah. That's why it reminded me of Captain Gramps," Darcy said, rolling her eyes. "Whatever, did I tell you I FOUND this thing? Yeah, Jane didn't notice. Too busy pouting because— oof. What was that for?"

Darcy rubbed her side where Jane had elbowed her.

Jane was not pouting because Thor had decided to go off and fight battles on some other planet because of some reason she couldn't help but find a little heroic and not at all self serving, thus making him even more Prince Charming-like than he already was. While it was all Loki's fault the Nine Realms were in chaos and having wars where they were once peaceful due to fear of the Asgardians showing up in their backyards, Loki didn't have to fight any battles because he was a fruit basket on Earth going to see a shrink to get better (at least he was getting help and knew he was a whacko). So, it was up to Thor to put the universe in order because Asgard thought they were the peacekeepers of everywhere except Earth—as if that were true, Earth would have known about Asgardians long before Thor fell to Earth and ran into her truck.

(She did not hit him. He hit her first. The second time was her fault.)

(Not that he seemed to care in the end. He never brought it up.)

"Sir?" May asked loudly.

"Spread out and see if you can find any other…strange stuff going on in here," Coulson ordered smoothly. "And keep civilians out."

The two that were clearly SHIELD agents scurried off, leaving behind Fitz, Simmons, and Skye. Coulson pulled out a phone, held it to his ear, and asked, "Laufey-Odinson's ETA?"

Silence.

"Who is this Loofa-Odinson? Do you guys know?" Skye asked, sliding up to stand next to Jane. "Coulson keeps trying to get him here, yet he seems to be MIA."

"Odinson?" Jane faintly asked.

"That's gotta be Loki! I mean Luke. His name is Luke now," Darcy covered, giving a lopsided smile to Skye. "Oh, we get two hot guys! Luke and Jimmy!"

Jane rolled her eyes.

"I called Luke," Ian reminded them. "Mr Stark told me to if freaky things happened. He said he was on his way. Luke did, not Mr Stark."

"Stark?" Coulson asked, turning around. "Who are you?"

"Ian Boothby, intern," Ian reminded Coulson. "I don't know whose intern I'm exactly, but Tony Stark informed me that if I ever saw anything that defied physics or was just plain weird, call Luke, who would also answer to Loki, which was just bizarre, but then again, it's Tony Stark. Who knows if it wasn't some sort of weird nickname he'd assign the guy?"

Coulson extended his head in agreement.

"So, Laufey-Odinson is really on his way?."

Ian nodded.

"What's with the Loo-fay?" Darcy inquired. "He's Thor's brother, what's with the hyphen? I mean, if he'd renamed himself Rogers-Odinson, that'd make sense, but Loofa?"

If looks could freeze a person, Darcy would be a popsicle thanks to Coulson. Jane was confused, while Skye looked a little too curious, especially when she took in Coulson's reaction.

"Rogers?" Skye asked. "Who the hell is Rogers? And isn't Loki the name of the deranged alien who lead the Chitauri in the Malibu attack? And why would Thor's brother, a supposed Norse god, be named Luke Lou-_fay_-Odinson?"

Skye gave all of them the big, round, puppy dog innocent eyes. Jane quickly looked elsewhere while Darcy began to twiddle her thumbs, thus dropping her beeping scanner with a clatter.

Coulson hit buttons on his phone and sighed. "He's about an half hour out."

"Who? Lou-_fay_-Odinson or Loki?" Skye asked.

"How'd he get here so fast?" Darcy asked, snooping to pick up the scanner. "Doesn't he live in New York with Steve?"

"He lives with Steve?" Jane asked, staring at Darcy.

"Ohmygod! How did you miss that? It was clear as day when we met them this summer, Jane! You're so blind!"

"I feel like I missed some totally juicy gossip at some point," Skye commented.

Coulson glared at Darcy, yet said nothing. His glare was enough to silence Darcy and make Skye look like a scolded child.

"No! This makes no sense!" the guy scientist shrieked as he attempted to get readings out of the phenomenon in the stairwell. He was waving around a strange looking device and staring at the StarkPad in his other hand. "It's utterly…brilliant!"

He sounded kind of Irish. Or Scottish. Jane was never very good at picking out people's accents.

"It really is, sir," the woman agreed quickly.

She was British. Jane was sure of it, as she sounded like the people who lived in the city. Well, some of them. There were a few Jane couldn't understand to save her life. Like the guy who sold her coffee on a daily basis. She never had any idea what he was saying. Hence why the first few times she wound up with the wrong coffee order.

"Can you tell me anything yet, Simmons? In English?" Coulson asked as if it was a common question to pose. The woman grimaced.

"If you want it in English, then no," Simmons admitted, while the guy (Fitz) laughed and grabbed at his hair. "These are similar to the scans we took downstairs, yet different."

"Well, I don't need English. Tell me anything," Jane said, pushing Darcy and Ian out of her way. "I got readings earlier, but you've got better equipment than I had on me when I got here."

Soon, Jane is emerged in a bubble of science and she's totally forgotten about her trip to…wherever.

* * *

_You are the hole in my head / You are the space in my bed / You are the silence in between what I thought and what I said_

_-Florence & the Machine, "No Light, No Light"_

* * *

Loki tapped his fingers on the armrest. Even though he knew this plane was one of Stark's faster airplanes, it was still taking forever to get from New York to London.

"You need to calm down, Lo," a soft voice said from next to him. A warm hand was soon wrapped around one of his colder ones, weaving fingers together and distracting Loki from his anxiousness. His fingers on his other hand soon ceased tapping.

"I am worried," Loki admitted, turning to look at Steve Rogers, his partner, boyfriend, significant other— Loki wasn't sure what the correct title for their relationship was. He did know he cared fiercely for the man, who was warmth and light to his coolness and darkness. While many would draw parallels between Steve and Thor, Loki was unable to find any passed the fact they both had blond hair and blue eyes. Thor was all brute force and arrogance (tempered somewhat from his time among the Midgardians), while Steve tended to think and avoid having to use his physical strength. Steve's main strength was in the fact his heart was huge. Loki mused occasionally, that if Steve could, he'd hug the world into world peace. Steve, though, wasn't that foolish to believe his world would ever be at peace.

And that was the other thing that Loki adored: Steve was rational and had a rather strong sense of logic to go along with his idealistic morals.

"You've been worried for weeks, Lo," Steve quietly reminded Loki, using his thumb to trace small circles on Loki's hand. Loki loved the way the callous on Steve's thumb felt against his smooth skin.

"I know."

Since an unknown alien artifact had fallen from the heavens and into the middle of downtown Anchorage, Loki had worried, but this recent abnormality had him anxious as well as concerned.

"There was a story Fa—Od—the All-Father used to tell Thor and I long ago. It was about a battle his father fought before Odin's birth."

"You can just call him your dad, you know," Steve quietly said, squeezing Loki's hand. "You usually do."

"I'm feeling rather…"

"A little Reindeer Games?"

Thankful Steve had figured it out so easily, Loki gave Steve a look, but nodded his agreement. "I am not sure why."

Steve shrugged. "As long as you don't have any world domination or ant stomping urges, it's fine. So, this story, tell me."

Loki settled back in his seat, shifting so he could look at Steve out of the corner of his eye and didn't have to weather those bright blue eyes full gaze. Sometimes, Loki felt Steve was too understanding when the Mad One (all Loki's rage, anger, and arrogance rolled into one convenient being that had tried to take over the world) flared up and threatened to come out to play. Loki was still trying to manage after his fall into the void he became two very separate beings. Melding them together had felt right when he'd done it in the heat of battle, but now a little over a year later, Loki wasn't sure it was the absolutely right thing for him to do. (The Mad One agreed, while Good Loki did not agree fully. It was…frustrating.)

"Eons ago, before the All-Father was born," Loki began pretending to look out the window, "his father Bor battled with a Dark Elf named Malekith. Malekith sought to destroy the universe as we know it and return it to darkness. To do this he wish to use a weapon called the Aether."

"What's the Aether?"

"You know, Odin never told us," Loki thoughtfully said, then bitterly chuckled. "We were still quite young when he told us this tale, so I doubt either of us would have truly understood if Odin had shared what the Aether was. He did tell us it was a powerful object, dark and sinister, and if Malekith got a hold of it, the universe was doomed."

Steve hummed thoughtfully, glancing down at their intwined hands. "Let me guess, Bor defeated Malekith, took the Aether, and saved the day?"

"Yes, that was what the tale told."

"Where's this Aether now?"

"Not in Asgard's weapons vault. Odin never told us what Bor did with the Aether, only that it was destroyed, along with the Dark Elves. Or so he claimed. I've learned he lies." Loki darkly snickered. "As a child, I was happy with the ending. Now, not so much."

"Why did you start thinking about this story after, uh, you got the call from Jane's new intern about this strange phenomenon in London?"

"I believe portals are forming," Loki quietly admitted out loud for the first time. "This isn't magic like I told Stark. No…there is a rare alignment of the Nine Realms where as the event approaches, portals form all over the Realms. I believe…this might be occurring. Everything Mr Boothby explained about the phenomena is exactly what happens before portals form on the branches of Yggdrasil for the first time."

Loki looked at Steve, who stared back at him with wide, sapphire eyes.

"You've seen a portal form?"

Loki nodded. "I did. They do not form often within a lifetime, but I witnessed one form when I was a boy in the weapons vault of Asgard. It was how I discovered an alternative method to traveling the Realms via the Biforst."

Loki paused a moment before continuing.

"It takes centuries to form portals, though. It requires energy, vast amounts. The one in the weapons vault didn't finish completion until shortly before…"

Loki shifted uncomfortably, unable to say when the portal had finished completion.

"Right before Thor's failed coronation," Steve finished, squeezing Loki's hand lightly. "So, the fact portals are forming quickly is bad, right?"

"Yes," Loki allowed, looking down at their hands. He studied the vast difference in their hands for a moment. Steve's were tan, his fingers were more sturdy than Loki's, and it was clear he used his hands, as there were small scars, nicks, and marks left from art supplies that stained his fingers. Loki's hands meanwhile were alabaster, flawless, graceful, and would be a little effeminate looking if they weren't so large.

They were opposites in almost everything and that was simply their hands.

"The last time the Nine Realms reached alignment was the first time Malekith tried to bring darkness to the universe," Loki explained. "It was part of the reason he made his move when he did, I believe the story goes."

Steve turned away from Loki, scratching his forehead with his free hand as he furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why'd anyone want to bring…darkness. What does that even mean?"

"He wishes to reboot the universe, Steven," Loki quietly said, using a term Stark used often to symbolize a restart. "At the beginning, there was darkness. Then came light, life, and all the other things that makes the universe alive."

Steve nodded. "So, if the Aether isn't actually destroyed…is it just lost like the Tesseract? I mean, the Asgardians thought that was destroyed as well, right?"

"No, legend said it was hidden away," Loki admitted. "One does not need the Aether in order for the Nine Realms to aline. No one knows why Convergence occurs, but it does happen. Oh, and there was also a prophecy at some point about the Aether."

"Like in _Harry Potter_?"

Loki paused for a moment, then remembered who Harry Potter was. "Yes, somewhat. Our prophecies are, like the ones in the Potter series: vague. There is room for misinterpretation, though when they are made by Mother they are almost always come to fruition."

"Your mother makes prophecies?" Steve asked, looking gobsmacked.

"She sometimes sees futures," Loki said. "She's not all seeing, or all knowing. Her visions are quite vague, but if she can figure out what she sees, she weaves it and gives this to Odin. He regrets when he fails to listen to his wife."

Even as a child, Loki had always gotten some sort of dark satisfaction when Odin didn't listen to something his wife told him and he wound up looking foolish.

"I cannot remember the last time Mother saw anything she was able to figure out before the event occurred," Loki admitted.

"So, what's the prophecy with the Aether?"

"That when Convergence occurs, one will be infected with the Aether— which makes me think it's not an actual object, but some kind of substance that infects— and catastrophe will follow."

"Not too detailed," Steve muttered. He looked away and glanced around the small cabin they were seated within. "I think we're landing."

A moment later, the pilot announced they'd be landing shortly. Steve gripped Loki's hand in a death grip, which might have broken his fingers if Loki had been a mortal.

"Landings are still kind of hard," Steve admitted, looking a little sheepish. "Especially when something pressing isn't happening."

"Perfectly understandable. Squeeze away," Loki said, resting his head on Steve's shoulder. "You cannot break me."

"Oh. Sorry."

"No need to apologize. As I said, it takes quite a bit of strength to break me," Loki quietly said. "So far, only I have been able to squeeze hard enough to break anything."

Steve awkwardly chuckled, but did not release his death grip on Loki's hand.

* * *

_I am extraordinary, if you ever get to know me / I am extraordinary / I am just your average, everyday, sane, psycho, super goddess _

_-Liz Phair, "Extraordinary"_

* * *

"OH MY GOD JANE! WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Jane startled, looking around in confusion. Simmons and Fitz were half-hidden behind some concrete pillars, the two high strung SHIELD agents had their guns pulled and pointed at her while being half obscured behind two overturned police cars, while Darcy was tucked away behind an overturned firetruck. The operators of these vehicles were nowhere to be found.

When had the police shown up? Why was she outside? And why was there a firetruck here?

"What's going on?" Jane demanded.

"Where did you vanish off to for five hours?" demanded the male agent, hard glint in his eyes as he stared Jane down.

"I don't know!" Jane shouted, spinning around to have over turned objects meet her gaze at every turn. It looked as if a hurricane has swept through the courtyard.

"She's putting off a lot of raw energy," called Simmons. "I don't…wait…it's quite similar to the radiation that rock cube let off, only…she's not radioactive…just like the rock cube."

"What are you talking about? Are you talking about that thing that fell in Alaska?" Jane demanded, turning in the direction Simmons' voice came, as she's hidden herself. "What is going on? Why are you all hiding? Why am I standing outside?"

Jane turned in a circle again, noticing it was raining everywhere but around her. That wasn't natural. (Nor were her long stretches of memory loss.)

Thunder echoed in the distance as the rain continued to pour down around her. She tried to touch it, but no matter where she moved, her dry bubble followed.

"What is happening?" Jane asked weakly, staring at her hands, which were tingling somewhat.

"I'm not sure, Dr Foster," Coulson said from behind her.

Jane wheeled around, finding Couldon and Nicholls both standing under a large, black umbrella. Coulson appeared neutral, while Nicholls' impossible blue eyes were alarmed and his face was concerned.

"I believe we're no longer in Kansas any more," Nicholls faintly said as thunder rumbled again in the sky. He rolled his eyes skyward and releasing Jane from whatever freaky magic the so called World War I solider had. (She did not believe for a second the man was simply human. There was something freaky about him.)

(And not just because he thought his horse (HIS HORSE) had sent him to their world to keep him safe.)

(HIS HORSE!)

"No, shit, Sherlock," Darcy snapped, coming out from behind the overturned firetruck. "Seriously, Jane, when did you became a god?"

"What?" Jane asked, wheeling around again to stare at her friend. Darcy, despite the agents trying to prevent her from approaching Jane, pelted towards Jane and shook off the rain as she joined Jane in her bubble of dryness. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Captain Hotty was having problems with getting the cops to leave us alone, as while they took over six hours to show up to where you'd gone MIA, they seemed convinced they needed you to, well, I don't know, go to jail or something. Trespassing. Psshhh."

"Seriously?"

"You went all bad ass on their, well, asses!" Darcy exclaimed. "And I'm pretty sure you made Jimmy let out a word that's quite not posh."

Nicholls scowled.

"What happened?"

"You shot off all this energy stuff!" Darcy shouted, waving her hands around. "It was like…magic! But it's not!"

"No, not magic. It doesn't have the same readings as…magic," came Simmons voice from where she was hiding. She clearly did not like to call the phenomenon that was indeed magic _magic_. "Is it safe to come out?"

"Her energy is going down," Fitz called. "Heart rate is lowering as well."

"Why is it not raining on me?" Jane asked, looking upward. The space where it was not raining created a tall column that went to the sky, showing it blue and cloud free above her head.

"No clue, but it's awesome! You're like Super Woman!" Darcy shouted, waving her hands around. "You're—"

"Dr Foster," Coulson's voice cut through Darcy's babble. Jane glanced over at him. He'd moved closer to where she and Darcy were standing, but not close enough to enter the Bubble of No Rain. "We need to get you to a secure location."

"But…science," Jane moaned, shoulders slumping.

Coulson took a few steps back, his eyes going a little wide. Nicholls took a few steps forward till he was once more standing next to Coulson, allowing the shorter man under the umbrella.

"Dr Foster, I believe it would be best if you accompany Agent Coulson and his team back to their headquarters," Nicholls said in a lulling voice. Jane narrowed her eyes. "I am sure once Mr Laufey-Odinson arrives, he will be able to shed some light on what might be transpiring. Till then, it would be prudent to protect you."

"Protect me?"

"You mean the world," Darcy offered, getting a dirty look from Nicholls.

"Loki's not here yet?" Jane asked.

"He's been held up," Nicholls replied. "Now, if you'd come with me, I'll shall escort you."

Without any hesitation, Nicholls stepped into the Bubble of No Rain, lowering the umbrella and shaking it out a bit before hooking it over his forearm. He gently looked at Jane and nodded his head in the direction she ought to begin to walk, offering his free arm to her.

"Ms Lewis is more than welcome to join you," Nicholls offered.

"I'd love to, Jimmy," Darcy said, hooking her arm around the proffer arm. "Wow. You got some muscles."

Nicholls frowned down at Darcy.

"But, what about…" Jane trailed off, not sure what she wanted to say exactly. She wanted to figure out the strange drunk physics (Coulson's term, not hers) that was going on. She wanted to know why she wasn't remembering long stretches of time, but above all, she wanted to know why everyone was treating her like she was made out of glass.

"Thor's been spotted on the subway!" shouted Skye. She was standing in the safety of the warehouse still, waving around her phone. "It's all over Twitter! Thor on the subway!"

"The Tube!" two other voices shouted together.

"Whatever," the girl grumbled. "Thor's here! Wasn't he, like, gone?"

"He was," Coulson agreed, stepping passed the Bubble of No Rain, grabbing the umbrella from Nicholls, and heading for the warehouse entrance.

"Is that what held Mr Loofa up?" Darcy asked. "Is he on the Tube with Thor?"

"Thor's on the London Underground?" Jane asked, unable to picture Thor using any form of public transportation without causing some kind of trouble.

"He is with Captain America," Skye exclaimed, tapping the face of her phone before it was snatched out of her hands by Coulson, who took over tapping. He raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like we've got two gods coming our way. Captain Nicholls. I think it best if we remain here with Dr Forster."

"I'm standing right here!" Jane shouted, not enjoying being talked about as if she wasn't there.

"Since when was Captian America deemed a god?" Simmons asked, poking her head out from behind the pillar.

"Bugger," Darcy grumbled, still clinging to Nicholls' arm.

"Thor took the Underground," the girl repeated, staring at Coulson. "The so called God of Thunder took the Underground. Public transportation! With Captain Freaking America!"

"He does enjoy using public transportation," came a cool, smooth, vaguely British sounding voice out of nowhere.

Jane jumped, turning around to find Loki, Steve Rogers, and Thor standing in the entrance to the courtyard Jane was standing in surrounded by her freak hurricane mess. Rogers looked around with wide eyes from under the safety of his umbrella, while Loki simply quirked an eyebrow at the destruction Jane seemingly wreaked. Thor only had eyes for Jane.

"Oh, and look who I found wandering around the streets of London," Loki said, sounding ironic as he gestured at his brother, who was dressed in his Asgardian armor and looked horribly out of place next to his brother and Rogers, who looked totally normal (even if Rogers was kind of dressed like a grandpa).

Without thinking, Jane ran across the courtyard and threw herself at Thor.

"HEY!" Darcy shouted. "Not fair! Bring my the Circle of Dryness!"

* * *

_Oh dear, can you fix it? / Right, left a bit, right a little / Okay, break down / We can tackle any situation / Look out 'cause here we come_

_-Bob the Builder, "Can We Fix It?"_

* * *

Nicholls produced an umbrella from the pocket of his trench coat and shielded Darcy from further drenching as Jane clung to Thor. Loki pressed his lips together, realizing what Darcy had meant when she'd said "Circle of Dryness" as he observed Thor and Jane.

Thor was no longer being rained upon and Jane was very dry, as in she'd never been touched by the downpour. Frowning, Loki circled the pair as Jane breathlessly tried to explain to Thor what had been transpiring.

"And then…well, I don't know what happened. I remember being mad, but I can't remember why," Jane said, finally letting go of Thor and falling back to her feet. She was still rather dry for someone who'd been hugging wet armor. Loki knew Asgardian armor didn't dry easily. Or quickly.

"The po-po thought she was pulling a prank!" Darcy said, having crossed the courtyard to where Thor, Loki, Steve and Jane were standing, dragging Nicholls and his tiny umbrella with her. Coulson remained within the warehouse with one of his agents, who clearly hadn't gotten the memo about SHEILD dress code. "I don't think Jane can pull a prank like this."

"I'm not pulling a prank!" Jane exclaimed exasperated. "You were the one that brought it to my attention!"

"That's right," Darcy said, smugness evident in her tone and face. "I did. Did you get more muscly?"

Darcy poked Thor in the chest.

"Brother?" Thor quietly asked, eyeing Jane worriedly.

"Yes?"

Thor stared at him while Darcy once more poked Thor in the chest. Nicholls looked as if he really wished he was elsewhere, but manners dictated he shield the lady from the rain, even though she was currently standing in what she'd referred to as the Circle of Dryness.

Loki rolled his eyes. "I don't know. It's strange. Are the realms aligning?"

Thor gravely nodded.

"Well, why are you asking me what's going on?" Loki asked. "When Convergence occurs, portals form all over the Nine Realms. This is clearly what occurs before portals form."

Loki knew Thor wasn't asking him what he thought about the portals. Thor could care less about the portals. He was only back on Earth (looking as if he'd just come from battle) because Jane was in danger.

Loki had no clue what was wrong with Jane Foster.

Loki strode across the courtyard, heading for the warehouse where Coulson stood waiting. Behind him he could hear Thor trying to prevent Jane from scrambling after him, but he failed, as when he'd gone to grab her, he hissed in pain.

Another troubling occurrence where Jane Foster was concerned. Loathe to admit it, Loki wanted to know what was wrong with Jane as much as he elder (not) brother. But there was the pressing matter of placating SHILED where the portals were concerned.

"Agent Coulson," Loki greeted, smile upon his thin lips.

While Loki was a bit bitter about being kept out of the loop about the rock-cube thing SHIELD had found a few weeks prior, there was something about the unassuming Coulson that Loki liked. Be it the quiet humor, the sly cunning, or the fact he worshiped Steve, Loki was unsure and had decided awhile back not to think too hard about why he liked the man.

Both sides of him liked the man and appreciated his talents.

"Mr Laufey-Odinson," Coulson formally greeted. "Glad you could make it."

Loki raised an eyebrow as he reached the shelter of the warehouse and lowered his umbrella, shaking it out before leaving it open near the entry to dry out. Jane came to a halt next to him, almost tripping over him in her haste. He caught her by her elbow.

She was extremely warm, much warmer than a mortal ought to be.

"I wanna know about portals," she announced, straightening up and jumping away from Loki as if he were on fire.

"Portals!"

"Where do they go?"

"Am I in a science fiction movie again?"

"How do we contain them?"

Loki glanced around at the people who'd gathered around Coulson, four were dressed as civilians, one was in a matching Coulson suit, while the other was dressed in the dark blue SHIELD uniform. Loki eyed the civilians. Three were clearly of the science nerd persuasion, while the other was something that did not fit in with SHEILD or the group in general.

"You'll have to introduce me to your new team," Loki said, looking back at Coulson and not answering any of their questions.

"Agents May, Ward, Fitz and Simmons," two of the scientists waved, "Mr Boothby, Dr Foster and Ms Lewis' intern, and this is Skye."

"Just Skye?" Loki inquired, noting the lack of title.

"Just Skye," the out of place woman greeted. "You're Luke Loofa-Obi-wan?"

Loki drew his eyebrows together as Steve, Thor, and Dracy dragging along a reluctant Nicholls joined them in the warehouse.

"Luafey-Odinson," Coulson corrected, looking weary and sounding a bit tired. "I highly doubt you ought to call him Loofa-Obi-wan to his face."

Skye gave Loki a once over, frowning as she got to his face. "Why? I could take him?"

Loki and Thor both snorted.

"So, you think these events are portals forming?" Simmons inquired, stepping a little in front of Skye. "Are you an alien expert or a… not yet explained science expert? And how does one become an expert in those things?"

"I'm not of Earth," Loki replied, holding out his hand. "Might I see your StarkPad?"

"Oh," Simmons breathed, clearly caught off guard and looking at him with wide eyes. "Seriously? Not of Earth?"

Loki took the state-of-the-art StarkPad Simmons had been holding and flicked his finger across the screen, studying quickly the readings she'd been taking. The most puzzling were the ones she'd gotten off of Jane during her "incident." Tapping his finger through a few more screens, Loki found the app he wanted and opened it up. Suddenly, the screen was projected above the tablet and in the air for all to see.

"Portals," Loki began, making sure everyone was paying attention to him, "usually do not form at random and are fixed points in the universe. You cannot create a portal without a great energy source. It usually takes centuries to create portals. To make them quickly, you need a power source, such as the Tesseract, which alone is unable to open a portal. It needed the help in order to open portals"

"Like Stark's Arc Reactor technology?" Coulson asked.

"Yes, correct," Loki agreed.

"Then where are these getting their energy from?" asked Fitz, looking at his own StarkPad. "I can't detect a power source akin to anything we know. No Arc Reactor or whatever Loki used to open the portal when he arrived via the Tesseract."

"The Nine Realms themselves are powering the portals," Loki answered.

"They are aligning," Thor added helpfully.

"OH! Like in _Doctor Who_!" Simmons exclaimed, clapping her hands together at her chest a few times while bouncing on her the balls of her feet. "I thought that was kind of silly— planets in perfect alignment creating energy that could be used for something, but that's what is happening, right? The planets are moving, so the energy of them shifting into alignment is creating the portals!"

"Correct," Loki said, trying to keep the amazement off his face. While he wasn't sure what she was talking about in regards to Doctor Who, he was glad she'd caught on quickly. "Though, it's realms, not planets. For instant, Earth is a planet, Midgard is the realm."

"Wait," Jane said. "I thought the terms were interchangeable."

"The more I've learned about the solar system you are located within, I know the terms are not interchangeable," Loki explained. "When I first arrived, I was ignorant of the stars that surrounded you and the fact you had other planets in your realm."

Jane looked like her head was going to explode.

"So, a realm is like a universe?" she whispered.

Loki frowned, thought about it a moment, then nodded.

"The universes are aligning?"

"Yes. There are universes near to you, called the Nine Realms by those of Asgard, and those are always in movement. Like how your planets go around your sun. Hmm…how to explain this properly. The visual of the tree works well."

Loki flicked the screen and made an image of Yggdrasil appear. He showed the branches how they usually were aligned.

"Realms are more stationary than your planets, however, once in awhile, they drift a bit." Loki made the branches move a little along the trunk. "This is why walking the pathways of the tree can be dangerous and you occasionally wind up somewhere you do not wish to be. However, for this to happen within a mortal's lifetime…it's a very low likelihood. But, as some scientists here theorize, the universes are always in movement. This is how the universe looks like at the moment."

Loki flicked the screen and moved the branches till they were almost all lined up along the main trunk. He glanced around at the group to find Nicholls and Steve looking baffled, Simmons, Fitz, Skye, Ward, Jane, Boothby, and Darcy looking transfixed, and Coulson and May looking unfazed by what Loki was explaining. Thor was staring at Jane.

"So, when the various universe line themselves up, they make a lot of extra power, right?" Darcy asked, reaching up to touch the screen projecting above the StarkPad. It flickered a little and she lowered her hand. "So, that power had to go somewhere, so it created the portals?"

"Yes. The readings Agents Simmons has on her tablet here prove my point. There is quite a bit of energy present and it is similar to…"

"Your magic," Steve suggested.

"No! The readings we get when the portals opened," Jane breathed, smacking herself in the head. "I've been staring at the numbers for months! Why did I not realize what I was looking at?"

"Because you were busying mooning over—ooof. Seriously, Jane?" Darcy asked, rubbing her stomach where Jane had elbowed her.

Loki snorted. "Easily missed. However, unlike the portals that dumped myself and Mr Ni—"

"Just you," Coulson said calmly. "No one else here has been dumped out by a portal."

Loki hid his surprise. He had felt that Coulson was keeping things from certain personal on his team, but just how much he was hiding was a little surprising. Loki nodded at Coulson, now knowing why Skye had referred to him as Luke. She didn't _know_.

"He was going to say Nicholls!" Skye shouted. "He's an alien too!"

Loki shook his head. "No. Mr Nicholls is not an alien. He's very much human."

Skye crossed her arms, frowning deeply. Loki noted she wore a rather heavy duty silver bangle that did not appear as if it was able to be removed.

"This is a clearance thing, isn't it?" she demanded, looking at Coulson and shaking her sleeve to cover the bangle.

"Yes. He shouldn't have told you he fell out of one," Coulson said, narrowing his eyes a bit.

Loki smirked, holding up his free hand in defeat. "Can I say why Jane was unable to notice the difference between these portals and the ones she's been studying?"

"Go ahead," Coulson said, giving Skye a look as she appeared rather giddy.

"As I was saying, the portal that placed me here was coming from an alternative universe, so it's readings would be different. These are all from this plane, not another."

"Wait, there's alternate universes?" Skye screeched.

"Realities would be the better word," Loki suggested mildly. "They do indeed exist and that, Jane, is why you might not have noticed what you were looking at."

"What about the readings when, er, uh, Loki came through," Jane suggested, eyeing Loki and likely willing him to understand.

Loki extended his head. "He was coming from this reality, but outside of the Nine Realms. So, once again, the numbers and energy readings will be a mite different."

"Mind blown," Fitz muttered, looking as if he was drowning.

"So, the Chitauri aren't of this universe? Or…I mean…" Simmons paused, looking a little confused.

"They aren't of this universe or one listed on this tree," Loki replied. "These are the life populated universes known in Asgard. The universe the Chitauri reside within is far outside and not connected to any of these realms. You see, these realms are connected by a force, the Life Tree."

Loki drew on the image he was still projecting over the StarkPad to show how each realm was connected to one another. "These are the paths I walked. Well, some of them. There might be many more, but these are the ones I knew of. These paths connect the Nine Realms. There are not paths out of the Nine Realms."

Except the Void, but Loki wasn't about to bring that up.

"Oh, Loki," Thor breathed, eyes finally on the display and not Jane. "No wonder you were never home."

Skye eyed Loki, then looked at Thor. "Loki's not here."

"No, he's not," Loki insisted, "but you do understand why your brother Loki was never around, yes?"

Thor laughed, clapping Loki on the shoulder.

"It was easy to travel when you had the ability to travel in this method. And without anyone knowing," Loki said quietly. "A quick escape."

"You can't travel this way any more?" Sky asked, picking up on his use of past tense. "The reality you were from was similar to this, right? But different, hence your weird last name compared to Thor, right?"

"Yes," Loki lied.

"I asked more than one question."

"I am unable to open the doors any longer," Loki grudgingly admitted. "Which brings me to my next point. These portals won't have doors."

"No door?" Coulson asked, looking a little worried.

"Why not?" several people demanded.

"These portals are very different from the ones that already exist," Loki explained. "If I show you the numbers, it'll make sense."

Loki took the image down and flicked around for the energy scanner Simmons had on the tablet. Upon finding it, he ran it again, carefully watching the results.

"And they are forming all over?" Coulson inquired.

"Just all over London," Loki said, getting the numbers and graph he wanted. He handed the StarkPad back to Simmons, who was quickly surrounded by Jane and Fitz.

Simmons, Fitz, and Jane all appeared to have had their minds blown and were unable to say anything.

"Without doors, these portals will be very easy to walk through, won't they Jane?" Loki politely asked, pretending to flick dirt off his shoulder.

Everyone turned to stare at Jane and Loki smirked. She looked like a deer caught in a car's headlights.

* * *

_All the answer for the words that you omitted / You omit them still / Never thought I would find out_

_-Emery, "Piggy Bank of Lies"_


	2. To Be, Rather Than To Seem

**Disclaimer: If you know it, I do not own it. "A Whole New World" lyrics by Tim Rice. **

* * *

**_To Be, Rather Than to Seem_**

* * *

_Well is it hard understanding, I'm incomplete / A life that's too demanding, I get so weak_

_-My Chemical Romance, "Famous Last Words" _

* * *

"Well, uh…I kind of…well," Jane struggled to speak properly while everyone was staring at her. She felt like a child, under the microscope for having stolen the freshly made cookies her mother set out to cool for the dinner guests.

"Please, Jane. I must know where you went if I am to aid you in your time of need," Thor gently murmured.

"Aid me?"

"You were invisible. You vanished," Thor explained. "Heimdall told me you vanished from his view. As a mortal, you should not be able to achieve that. Only one is known to be able to do this."

Jane glanced at Loki, who was still staring at her as if he was trying to read her mind. She looked back at Thor. It was easier to talk to him, as he was less likely to get angry at her. Worried further, yeah, but angry— no. Thor got angry at others, but never her.

"Well, Darcy alerted me to the portals forming. We came here to this warehouse, then I wandered off," Jane began, feeling foolish.

She wandered off? How old was she? Ten?

"You found a portal," Loki prompted. "This one was fully formed, correct?"

"Yeah, I believe it must have been. I was curious, so I stuck my hand in it. The readings were stable, or well, more stable than the other ones we'd found. And it was huge."

"You didn't think to just throw something through it? You had to touch it?" Darcy asked.

"I was curious!"

"Curiosity killed the cat," Skye offered.

"And satisfaction brought it back!" Jane contended. "I know it wasn't the brightest thing to do, and I should have known better, but sometimes you just have to go for it! For science! For discovery!"

"For Narnia!" Darcy joked, punching the air with her fist.

"You're like Daniel Jackson!" Simmons exclaimed.

"I know!" Fitz agreed, eyes alight as he turned to Simmons. "He touches everything and it never ends well. Oh, look at this strange, glowing artifact! I should touch it!"

"Oh no! I died! Again!" Simmons laughed.

"Or this brand new planet we just discovered is going to blow up loosing all the priceless archeology research!"

"Fitz. Simmons," Coulson scolded.

"Sorry," they apologized in unison, turning back to face the group.

"Where did you go?" Loki demanded of Jane flatly.

"I don't know! As far as I know…there was a rock. A leaking rock."

"A leaking rock?" Loki echoed, the little color in his pale face draining. "Was it leaking red?"

"Yeah. My memory isn't very clear of what happened. I mean, I know I went somewhere, but it's all foggy. The last clear thing I remember is…darkness. It was very dark except for the glowing red, cracking, black rock. Then I was standing in front of Darcy who was screaming at me that I'd been missing for five hours."

Simmons began to type on her StarkPad, then glanced at Coulson, who nodded.

"Does this look familiar?"

Jane took the tablet from Simmons, looking at the photo called up.

"Yeah, actually," Jane admitted. "It's the same type of rock, I think. Oh, it's got writing on it."

"Writing?" Simmons asked, looking baffled. She exchanged looks with Fitz before looking back at Jane. "Uh, can you tell me what it says?"

Jane looked back down at the StarkPad and stared for a moment longer before it suddenly clicked in her head was the odd shapes on the rock said.

"There's the words _shan't_, _glory,_ and _power._"

"Where the hell is this writing?" Skye asked, peering over Jane's shoulder. "How come no one else knew saw it? Even our so called alien expert didn't see there was writing on the rock-box!"

Loki scowled.

"Brother?" Thor prompted.

"Okay, is he really your brother?" Skye demanded, eyes hardening. "He's from another reality, right? Loki's your brother and this guy claims he's named Luke Loofa-Obi-wan."

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. Thor looked uncomfortable, gaze shifting from Loki to Coulson.

"Jane needs the All-Father," Loki said, still pinching the bridge of his noise and not looking at anyone. His raven hair fell forward and hid most of his face from view. "I believe the Aether is within her. It'd explain her memory loss, her destructive power, and the fact she remained dry when it was raining. Oh, and she can read a dead, ancient language. Or what I assume is a dead, ancient language, as even I missed there was writing on the rock."

"The Ether?" Darcy asked. "Isn't that some sort of chemical? Wait! It is! It was used to knock out preggo women once upon a a time! Right?"

"You can't see it?" Skye inquired, at the same time as Darcy was babbling about ether.

"Aether. A highly elastic substance that formerly permitted all of space and held things together. The Aether is similar to this substance, hence why you puny mortals named the substance after it," Loki snapped.

"So, Odin's granddad didn't destroy the Aether," Steve Rogers stated loudly, standing unnaturally close to Loki and appearing worried Loki's head was bowed and he was still pinching his nose.

Jane was more worried about his sudden mood swings.

"No, it seems he trapped it in a rock and put a warning on it in some language no one speaks or is able to read! Brilliant, he was," Loki scoffed, fingers letting go of his nose. He raised both hands and began massaging his temples. "Part of this rock fell to Earth, likely attracted to the portal residue left by…Mr Nikitin."

"Who?" several people inquired.

"Mr Nikitin. You do not know him," Loki lied.

He lied!

Jane could tell he'd just lied to them.

Loki slowly lifted his head up, dropping his hands to his side. His skin was rubbed red where he'd been pinching his nose and massaging his temples. Closing his eyes, he said, "You must take her to your father. The Aether needs to be removed. It's killing her mortal body."

That was not a lie.

"What?" Jane screeched. "I'm dying? I don't feel like I'm dying!"

Loki opened his eyes and turned towards her, pinning her with his alien green eyes. "Of course you do not. I bet you feel as if you could, dare I say it, take over the world."

It was meant to be ironic, sarcastic, or something, but Jane shivered. The dangerous, mad, and insane world dominator lurking under Loki's calm, collected, clever exterior showed through those strange eyes as he looked at her.

Loki was dangerous.

"Fine," Jane said, realizing she needed to get away from Loki. She worriedly glanced around at the others, then back at Loki too see the danger in Loki seep away when Steve Rogers gripped Loki's shoulder. She stared at the pair of men and couldn't figure out what the hell she was seeing. "I've got more questions, though."

"I will try my best to answer. Bro—Lo—Luke, I am sad to tell you that you must remain here," Thor said, looking like a kicked puppy.

Skye crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Coulson pinched his nose.

Loki nodded. "I believe that best."

He did not appear as if he thought it was for the best, yet he was not lying.

Steve gave him what looked as a painful shoulder squeeze.

"You'll be more use here," Steve said, a cheerful look on his face that might not have actually been fake. (For some reason he wasn't as easy for Jane to read. Why was that? Why could she suddenly read people? Was it to do with this Aether?) "You can help Agent Simmons and Fitz find the portals in London, right?"

Loki nodded his agreement, looking at Coulson.

"We will be going," Thor said, gripping Jane around her waist and whisking her out of the warehouse as if Jane was a damsel in distress.

"Wait— no— I can't just leave!" Jane sputtered as Thor literally carried her into the center of the courtyard. "There are portals! Science! Loki!"

She looked pleadingly at Loki as Thor hauled her away. Loki watched her with a neutral mask on his face, but she knew he was worried. For her, or just in general, Jane wasn't too sure about.

"Father will explain as well as Loki would be able," Thor said, looking stern as he set Jane down. "Hold tight, Jane." Jane threw her arms around Thor's middle (man he was hard) and held on for dear life as she felt his arm not holding this hammer come around her. He looked upwards into the clear blue sky above their heads and shouted, "HEIMDALL!"

* * *

_Your love is like a solider, loyal 'till you die / And I've been looking at the stars for a long, long time / I've been putting out fires all my life_

_-James Blunt, "Bonfire Heart"_

* * *

Tension radiated through Loki's body. He felt like he was raging a war. In a sense, that was exactly what he was doing. The Mad One wanted to go back to Asgard. He did not wish to remain behind on Midgard— Earth. Schemes, plots, and revenge were on the Mad One's mind and invading the more rational side of Loki's personality— which fought for dominance on a daily basis.

Loki was tired.

"Lo?"

Loki glanced up from where he'd been poking at StarkPad to find Steve considering him with trepidation. Steve had every right to look as he did. He ought to be worried. For his planet, for his well being, for the life they had worked hard to build for themselves— all were threatened at this very moment from outside sources or from Loki himself.

"I am…upset," Loki stiffly stated, staring at the spot where Thor and Jane had been whisked away by the Bifrost.

Simmons and Fitz were both, to use a Midgardian phrase, having kittens at witnessing the activation of the Bifrost. This, unfortunately, distracted everyone from the more pressing problem of finding and guarding the many portals that were forming all over London. Luckily, many of the portals that were forming were in the sky— where they only had to worry about aircrafts flying through them.

Steve put a concerned look on his face and tugged Loki's damp jacket sleeve, indicating he wished for Loki to sit down. Loki allowed a brief look of distaste to paint his fine features on the thought of sitting on the ground, but nonetheless allowed Steve to pull him down.

"You want to go home," Steve quietly said.

"You are home, Steven," Loki reminded the other man fiercely.

That was why Steve was here. Bruce Banner, a man who fought a daily battle with another being who lived within, had suggested Loki spend as much time as he could at home, knowing full well to Loki home wasn't a building but Steve. Because the Mad One was lurking so near to the surface and Loki was struggling to keep his emotions in check, he'd leapt for joy (figuratively) when Steve agreed to accompany Loki to London to investigate the strange occurrences.

Loki wasn't sure if he could have stayed among the mortals for long if Steve had been back in New York.

"I mean, you wanted to go to where you grew up. That home. You wanted to go to Asgard— where the action is."

Loki shook his head, turning his attention to the others in the warehouse. Coulson was torn between allowing Simmons and Fitz to get as much as they could from the residual effects of the Bifrost and getting them back on task to finding the portals in London. Ward and May were all standing off to the side, eyeing Loki and Steve. Skye was drilling Nicholls (likely knowing he was the man Loki had earlier alluded to), while Darcy continued to hang on his arm babbling nonsense. Loki had no clue where the intern had buggered off to.

"One part of me wishes to be there because I might be able to get my magic back," Loki found himself admitting to Steve. (Oh, his therapist would be so proud…he was opening up and being honest!) "The other part wants nothing to do with Asgard at this moment. You remember how Asgard is, Steven. They are…backwards, stuck in the past, and stagnant. The Aether is free because Bor did not destroy it, but incased it in stone. Stone, Steven. He thought his power, his magic was all powerful and would never fade, and yet it failed. The warning he left was written in a language that even I have not come across in all my studies. So, look at the mess Bor and Asgard has put the entire Nine Realms in because they believed they were infallible. Jane is dying, the Realms are aligning, there are portals all over London, and something dark is on its way."

"What is on its way?"

Loki frowned, looking at his lap. "That I am not sure. However, if Bor failed to destroy the Aether, then who is to say he truly defeated the Dark Elves? What if they, like the Aether, were simply hidden or…"

"Or asleep?" Steve asked, his voice raising a bit.

Loki turned to Steve and stared at the man. "Yes. Asleep. Suspended in time. Elves are magical, more so than your average Asgardian. While some elves more than others, it's in all of them and they use it without shame. Granted, I do not know of any Dark Elves, but I know many Light Elves. If, assuming they are similar, Dark Elves will have the power to…sleep for long extended periods. Who knows? Malekith might be attracted to the Aether. When it awakes, so does he."

"It would be what you'd do," Steve quietly suggested, looking over his shoulder at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"It is," Loki admitted, a sinking feeling forming in his stomach.

"Can you map the portals?" Coulson requested as he drew closer. "I assume that's what you're doing on the StarkPad."

Loki got to his feet gracefully. "Yes, of course. Since we've had this one forming behind us, all you must do is look for similar energy readings."

"Will Jane be okay?" Darcy demanded, pushing Coulson to the side.

"I believe she will be. The All-Father will wish to remove the Aether from her as soon as he can," Loki replied stiffly. "Even if it is not the Aether, whatever is in her, he will want for its power. Keep it locked up, another stolen relic."

Loki knew the distaste was clear in his tone.

"How do you know?" Skye challenged, coming up behind Darcy. "You're from another reality, how do you know what this All-Father dude will do?"

Loki refrained from rolling his eyes. "I simply do."

"You're Loki," Skye stated flatly, folding her arms across her chest and giving him a challenging look.

Loki smirked. He leaned forward in a mock bow and said, "At your service, Lady Skye."

"Why is he walking around free?" Skye demanded, whirling around to glare at Coulson.

No one, not even the two hardened SHIELD agents, seemed to care there was a former super villain in their mists. (The two scientist only did not care because they were still chattering on about their Bifrost readings and weren't paying attention.)

"Level seven," Coulson said calmly. "That is all you need to know."

"He tried to take over the world!"

"And I failed because I was being influenced by an outside force! I wanted to fail! I aimed to fail!" Loki burst out, balling his fists at his side. It took everything in him not to lash out at the mortal before him. "I have no desire to rule ANYTHING!"

Skye took a few steps backwards, her face showing no fear, yet her eyes betrayed her. Loki felt a surge of pleasure at the sight but before he could do anything more he felt strong arms around his middle hauling him backwards.

"You know, Loki's feeling a bit reindeerish," Steve said from behind Loki, hauling him outside. Loki fought for purchase, but was unable to stop from moving backwards.

"Steven, let me go!"

"I think we'll just, uh, go now and email you the results he gets, okay?"

"If you believe that is best, Captain Rogers," Coulson said calmly as Steve dragged Loki out into the rain.

When had it begun to rain again?

The cold, autumn rain served as a wake up call to Loki, who gasped, realizing he'd let the Mad One bleed in a little too much. He collapsed against Steve's chest, causing Steve to stumble.

"I can't do this," Loki breathed. "He's too near to the surface. I can't…"

Steve turned Loki in his arms and forced him to look him in the eye. What Loki saw there snapped him out of his panic.

Steve was looking at him as he always did: with pure love. Yes, he was concerned for Loki's well being, but he loved Loki. _Loved_ him as no other had ever loved Loki before. Steve's love was different than Loki's oaf of a brother, even different than his mother's. Where they both loved Loki without question and would always, Steve had every reason not to love Loki, to stop loving him— yet, Steve wouldn't. Even when the Mad One took control, seeped too far into Loki's mind…Steve would still love Loki.

"I do not deserve you," Loki breathed.

"Yes, you do," Steve said fiercely.

Loki collapsed against Steve. Steve wrapped his warm, strong arms around Loki's shivering frame and held him tight.

"I know I might have given you the impression I wasn't too thrilled with the other side of you— and while I don't approve of his actions, he is you. He is a part of you. I accept that, Loki. I know you wish he would just go away, but he's not going to. You need to deal with his feelings." Steve pulled Loki away and force him to meet those blue, blue eyes. Steve was soaking wet, his blond hair plastered to his forehead. He looked utterly gorgeous and that distracted Loki from his turmoil for a moment. "Loki, I know you think you cannot change the Mad One, but I believe you can heal him. He's hurt. I can see that in your eyes when you loose control. He is in so much pain. I don't know why, but he is hurt and the only way to fix that is to allow yourself to feel that hurt, heal, and deal."

"He's insane. There's no hope for him," Loki whispered, staring at Steve through his own wet hair, which obscured his vision, yet he didn't bother to move it out of his eyes.

"There is hope for him," Steve softly said, brushing Loki's wet hair to the side and kissing Loki's forehead. "You _are_ him. You're not hopeless. People love you Loki. People loved you even when you were angry, vengeful, and trying to commit genocide. Thor loves you, your mother loves you, and I'm sure somewhere under that hard shell, your father loves you."

Loki snorted.

"I love you," Steve said, his cheeks going a little pink.

Loki's eyes widened. Steve had never been able to say those three words together before. Loki's heart swelled to an impossible size. Everything that had been wrong melted away and the whole world simply consisted of Steve.

"Never doubt that," Steve went on, frowning as he took in Loki's reaction. "You are who you are. And you yourself told us the only reason you tried to take over Earth was because you were under another's control and coming here was the only way you could see out of your predicament. And you didn't steal the throne on Asgard, it was given to you. I know you tried to take out the Yo-tune-eem…er, the Frost Giant world, but given what I now know about Asgardian culture and what Thor was like when you were growing up, I can understand why you'd think such a drastic undertaking was the right course of action."

"You've also spoken to Jessica," Loki said quietly.

"Well, yeah. She explained quite a bit to me," Steve admitted, blushing. "I was…I was just trying to understand."

Loki reached up and cupped Steve's face. "If only others would try to understand, it might have been avoided."

"That could be said about many tragedies," Steve said, allowing his face to rest in Loki's cold palm. He closed his bright blue eyes for a second. When he reopened, there was a soft look in them that made Loki's breath catch in the back of his throat. "Let's go back to the hotel I know Tony had JARVIS booked for us, change into dry clothes, and you can get to work on finding the portals with Fitz and Simmons while…"

"You sit around looking irresistible for me?" Loki teased. "Oh, Steven Rogers," Loki paused and leaned in closer, "I do love you so."

Steve got a rather stupid look on his face, but closed the space between them and brushed his lips against Loki's. Loki pulled him in closer to get a proper kiss out of the man.

* * *

_'Cause everything's so wrong / And I don't belong / Living in your precious memory _

_-Vanessa Carlton, "A Thousand Miles" _

* * *

Jane had the song from _Aladdin_ in her head. It'd been rolling around since she'd gotten her first glimpse of Asgard in all it's shining, golden glory. (_Unbelievable sights, indescribable feelings, soaring, tumbling, freewheeling through an endless diamond sky…) _There were several moons and other planets in the sky, while the sky itself was a wide array of various colors, yet it was golden somehow.

Her head felt like it was going to implode.

_(A whole new world (don't you dare close your eyes), a new fantastic point of view (hold your breath, it gets better)…)_

Then she got inside the palace.

_(I'm like a shooting star, I've come so far, I can't go back to where I used to be…)_

The gold was overwhelming. The size was overwhelming. Everything was overwhelming.

_(A whole new world, a dazzling place I never knew, but now from way up here, it's crystal clear that now I'm in a whole new world with you…)_

The rooms (quarters) Thor had shown her to were twice the size of the the largest place Jane had ever lived. It was way too large for a single person. There were two levels and ten rooms. Why did she need all this room? Who needed all this room for themselves alone? (She was kind of cranky she had her own quarters, but then she remembered Asgardians were old fashion, so it was likely improper for her to share a room with Thor.) (Not that they had to share a room, as she guessed Thor had more rooms than she did since he was a prince.)

In the massive room Jane figured was a closet there were several different dresses in Asgardian fashion that were clearly meant for Jane to wear. She glanced down at her basic black coat, flannel shirt, jeans, beat up boots. Definitely not up to the standards of meeting a king. Or anyone's parents. Jane picked up a gold dress, absently wondering how they knew what size she wore. (She didn't even really know what size she wore.) The dress wasn't an in your face gold color, more muted. She allowed her fingers to ghost over the surface of the material. It felt nicer and finer than anything she'd ever touched before.

It likely cost more than she'd made in her entire lifetime.

Putting the dress over her arm, she noticed a beautiful teal cloak as well as some armor resting on a shelf. Snickering at the thought of her needing armor, she shed her own clothing and folded it up besides the armor pieces. Leaving her underthings where they were (there were no Asgardian underwear for her to wear), she put the gold dress over her head and was dismayed to find it was too big, but shivered as she felt the dress fit itself to her form.

"Oh, god," Jane muttered feeling self-conscious at the sight that greeted her in the full length mirror situated in the closet.

She grabbed up the cloak. It took her a few tries to figure out how she was supposed to wear the stupid thing, but Jane was a rather smart person, so she eventually figured it out as there was a knock at a door somewhere.

"Yeah?" Jane called out, walking out of the closet and into the room containing the bed. The knocking continued, sounding as if it was coming from father way all of a sudden. Jane headed toward the noise and into the first room she'd been shown. She opened the door to reveal Thor and a few other people Jane vaguely recognized.

"Lady Jane," Thor greeted, bowing. "Might I introduce my friends. This is Sif and the Warriors Three."

"There are only two of us," the blond one pointed out, then turned his attention to Jane. "Our friend Hogan remained on his home world to help rebuild after our latest battle."

Jane nodded, remembering Thor had been fighting his way through the Nine Realms to restore peace.

"I am Fandral the Dashing," the blond man reminded Jane, bowing deeply.

"Jane," she replied, even though she knew he knew that. She stuck out her hand.

He looked massively confused, but gripped her arm and shook her whole being. Sif elbowed him in the side and scolded him out of the corner of her mouth while Jane rubbed her now sore arm.

"I am Volstagg the Valiant!" boomed the larger man who reminded Jane a bit of Hagrid from _Harry Potter_.

"Or Voluminous," Fandral whispered, jumping away from Sif's elbow this time.

Volstagg gave Fandral a look and pushed him over into something in the hall behind him. There was a loud crashing noise that echoed through the hallway.

Thor sighed.

"Come, Jane, Father will see you now. Then I will take you to see Eir."

Jane nodded, gathering her cloak around her. She kind of wished Thor would take her to see Eir, the head Asgardian healer, as she figured Eir would be easier to deal with than the King. Even though she didn't feel like she was dying, she was exhausted after her trip through the Bifrost. Still, she followed Thor out of the room and was flanked by Sif, with Volstagg and Fandral brining up the rear. Throughout the whole journey, Sif gave Jane the evil eye, making Jane feel even more exhausted and unwelcome than she already felt. Jane shifted her attention away from Sif and decided to take in her surroundings.

The song from _Aladdin_ ran through her head yet again. (_A whole new world (every turn a surprise), with new horizon to pursue…) _She really was in a whole new world, yet there were some things that never changed no matter where she found herself.

* * *

_I am tired, I am weary / I could sleep for a thousand years / Different colors made of tears / A thousand dreams that would awake me_

_-The Velvet Underground, "Venus in Furs"_

* * *

Odin was pretty much what Jane expected, and thus she wasn't all that surprised when the man proclaimed there was nothing he could do for her and she was going to die.

She wasn't sure which part of that had been a lie, but she knew he was lying about something.

"We must protect her!" Thor bellowed.

Odin banged his staff on the smooth, sleek, shiny floor. "Quiet!"

The man roared like a lion.

"Of course we will protect her," Odin snapped (not a lie). He took a calming breath and turned his attention back to Jane. "I am afraid I am unable to remove the Aether from you safely. For now, it must remain inside."

Lie.

"Prince Loki said you could," Jane said, knowing if she just accused him of lying that'd get her nowhere fast.

"Loki speaks of things he does not understand," Odin flatly stated.

Hmm…that was harder to parse out. It was a lie and truth all at once. Kind of made sense, since Loki was the God of Lies. He likely did often talk about things he didn't understand.

Jane noticed the queen's mouth tighten.

"Loki lies," Sif said under her breath and likely for no one else to hear.

"Odin lies," Jane snapped, glaring at Sif a moment before turning her attention back to Odin.

Jane couldn't believe she'd just defended Loki— the being who'd tried to take over the world. The guy was insane. She could smell the crazy on him the last time she'd seen him.

She smelled crazy on him? Seriously?

"Jane," Thor scolded.

"What?" Jane asked, feeling something strange swell up within her. Her blood boiled, burned, and popped. "He does! He's lied to me at least twice since I walked in here!"

Thor, and the rest of the people except Queen Frigga, looked completely shocked.

"And no wonder Loki lies to you people!" Jane went on shouting. "You all expect him to lie, so if he even told you the truth you'd think he was lying! I know he wasn't lying when he said Odin could help!"

Her blood felt too hot for her skin. She desperately wanted to remove her cloak, but didn't have a chance as images suddenly flashed through her mind at a speed she was amazed she could understand what she was seeing. She pressed her hands to her head, as it hurt, but she understood what she was seeing: Loki's decent into madness. The Aether was allowing her to understand Loki for some reason.

Why? Why did the Aether think she needed to know about Loki? Loki was dangerous! Loki lied! Loki was on Midgard! Who cared about Loki?

Clearly, the Aether cared about Loki, as it wanted her to understand Loki.

"You cannot anger her," said a calming voice as Jane felt gentle arms embrace her. "The longer she spends with the Aether, the more it will defend itself and try to keep her safe."

"She insulted the king!?" snapped another voice.

"Lady Sif, calm yourself," ordered Odin. "My queen, what would you have me do? I cannot remove it."

Lie. He could remove it if he wanted, he was simply unwilling as he had no where to put it.

Oh.

"I will take care of her."

At some point Jane had found her way to the floor, where the cloak and dress spread out around her in a way Jane had only witnessed in films. Removing her hands from where they'd been pressing on her head, Jane allowed the person whose arms were around her to help her to her feet, where she found she was slightly unsteady.

"Calm yourself, Jane Foster," said a very placid voice. Instantly, Jane felt a sense of tranquility radiate through her. "We will figure out how to prevent your demise. A trip to the healing rooms will be in order."

Jane looked up and found she was now in the care of the queen, beautiful and radiating with a power Jane could not pin point.

She wasn't lying. She'd try to help.

"Frigga," Odin warned.

"Prevention is key," the woman replied, and guided Jane out of the throne room.

"What just happened?" Jane whispered as soon as they were out in the hallway.

"My husband worries you are the end of the universe," Frigga explained breezily. "There was a prophecy that the return of the Aether would bring devastation to the Realms."

"Oh."

"Prophecies, especially ones that predict the end of worlds, are often wrong. Or easily fixed if you decide to ignore them," Frigga went on. "Also, it was made so long ago, who is to say it is true to begin with? If the last time the Aether was on the loose, they really wished to prevent the end of the Realms, then they would have destroyed the substance instead of incasing it in stone."

"But, the bad guy, er…Malekith? He's returning?"

"Oh, yes, he is. If the Aether wasn't destroyed, he was not either."

Frigga came to a stop and two guards opened a pair of doors. "I would dare go so far as to say he is on his way to you. Now, first let us have Eir have a look at the Aether in your system and then I will answer all the questions brimming in your mind. You can tell me how my youngest son really is, as I have a feeling the Aether within you can see facets of him Heimdall is unable to discern."

* * *

_I crossed the ocean for a heart of gold / I've been in my mind, it's such a fine line / That keep me searching for a heart of gold / And I'm getting old_

_-Neil Young, "Heart of Gold"_

* * *

Once they're checked into the hotel (and had taken care of a few personal things), Loki settled on the couch in the sitting area of the room and got out the laptop. Opening up the right program he began to write a new program for tracking portals as he hacked into SHEILD. It only took him a few minutes to find the network Coulson's team used. He made his presence known and waited.

"How did you do that?" Fitz demanded, his face appearing on the screen.

Loki smirked.

"Magic," he offered. "How far have you gotten in discerning where the portals are forming?"

"They are all over," Fitz said, glancing over his shoulder. Loki could tell he was no longer in the warehouse, but in a lab of some sort. "Coulson and Ward are out making sure no one wanders into the ones we've found on the ground. Agent May is getting someone to change the air traffic around London so no plane flies into the ones off the ground."

Loki nodded.

"I assume you've read our research so far, though, so why did you ask?"

"To be polite," Loki appeased.

Fitz snorted.

"Have you figured out why they are only appearing around London?" came Simmons voice from off screen. "I've scanned the globe, but the only place the portals are forming is in London."

"I would assume it has something to do about being the center," Loki said. "Each Realm has a center, where convergence will line up. It seems on Midgard, the center of it all, the middle is somewhere in London."

"Likely Greenwich," Simmons offered. "There are more portals in and around that area of London than any others."

"Coulson wants to know if we can make doors," Fitz said, holding a phone to his ear.

"I believe we must figure out how, as sooner or later beings from the other Realms will begin to stumble through."

"Are they all not nice?" Simmons asked, naïvety running rapid through her tone.

"No, Agent Simmons, they are not all nice. Many will be very not nice," Loki replied. "There might be Frost Giants, Fire Giants, Dwarves, Elves, and other beings who will not care for…humans."

Loki almost spat puny mortals. He took a calming breath.

"Are the giants, well, giant?"

"Yes."

"Like how giant? You're a Frost Giant, aren't you?" Simmons asked, then turned pink and ran off out of the screen.

"Jemma!" Fitz exclaimed, looking confused by her behavior.

Loki quickly schooled his features, knowing SHEILD knew his true nature. He had a feeling that after Skye's revelation at the warehouse, the trio might have gone digging passed their security clearance to get more information on him.

Or Coulson told them.

"Yes, I'm a Frost Giant. I am a runt."

"You're a runt?" Fitz asked, whirling around to face the screen again. "You're taller than Ward!"

Loki frowned. "I'm very short for a Frost Giant."

"You're not short," Steve said.

"You've never met a real Frost Giant, Steven," Loki threw over his shoulder at Steve who was seated in the windowsill, sketchbook in his lap.

"Doubt I ever will till one stumbles through a portal," Steve said, grinning at whatever he was drawing.

Loki huffed.

"Okay, so we should have people posted at the portals to make sure to contain whatever comes through?" Fitz asked, phone still pressed to his ear.

"You ought to not shoot anything that stumbles out," Loki suggested. "Many of the beings will likely turn around and go back through once they realize where they are."

Fitz relayed this information to Coulson and walked off, leaving Loki staring at the lab.

It was very lab like and boring.

"What can I do?" asked a familiar voice somewhere off to the left. "I've got an intern and a time traveling solider!"

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Ms Lewis, please refrain from telling people I'm a time traveling solider," Nicholls sighed.

"Time traveling solider?" Skye's voice inquired.

Darcy rolled her eyes as she sat down in front of the computer screen, fiddling with a scanner of some sort.

"I knew there was something weird about you other than your smile power," Skye accused.

"Smile power?" several people asked. Darcy snorted.

"Oh, please, do not try to tell me you didn't notice he's got the power to control people with his smile!"

"Some people would call that charm, Lady Skye," Loki drawled. "Can we get back to the matter of these portals?"

"How about we try to figure out how to make doors," Coulson suggested, appearing out of nowhere and moving Darcy off screen. She let out a yelp. "Captain Nicholls, would you please take Miss Lewis and Mr Boothby with you when you go retrieve Dr Selvig?"

"Certainly. Come along, Miss Lewis, Mr Boothby," Nicholls said off screen.

Coulson turned his attention from the leaving trio to Loki.

"Are you bringing in the big guns?" Loki asked.

"No. Dr Selvig is…a bit not good," Coulson settled upon.

Loki frowned. "How so?"

"He's displaying signs of having a metal breakdown," Coulson reported. His eyes narrowed a little. "If I did not know better, I'd say it was due to your mind control, but seeing as he's been mentally healthy for over a year, I'm leaning towards it's something else all together."

Loki frowned, turning Coulson's words over in his mind. "No, no. You might be right."

"Pardon?"

"How is Jessica? Agent Barton?"

"Loki?" Steve asked, setting down his sketchbook.

"He is fine. You seem fine as well. Last I saw Ms Witton while I was in Anchorage, she was well, as I am sure you are aware of."

"I've not been fine," Loki snapped then pinched the bridge of his nose. "I apologize. I did not mean to take that tone with you."

"Explain."

"I didn't think anything of it, but I've been having trouble controlling…my rage, my anger, and the emotional pain I suffered. I've been, as Steven put it, feeling a little reindeer like. While that aspect of myself is always there, he's been very near the surface since that chunk of rock fell to Earth. I am concerned, as if Dr Selvig and I are reacting to being under the Tesseract's influence in such a manner, what is happening to Jessica and Agent Barton… as well as the others."

Coulson pulled out his phone, at the same time Loki pulled out his. They both dialed and waited.

"Do you know what time it is, Loki Laufey-Odinson?" demanded a cranky voice on the other end.

"Are you well? Just tell me," Loki pleaded, clutching the phone. He felt Steve sit down by his side, silently giving his support.

"Uh, yeah. You just woke me up at the crack of not dawn," Jess complained. "And I just got to sleep."

"Have you been having trouble sleeping?"

"No. I was reading," Jess admitted, sounding sheepish. "What's going on, Lo?"

"Dr Selvig and I are showing signs of…something. It might be connected to the influence of the Tesseract and what is currently happening in London. When the comet fell in Anchorage, did you feel any different?"

Jess was quiet for a moment. Loki could picture her frowning. He heard blankets shifting on the other end of the phone.

"Well, other than a little freaked out, no, not really."

"Has she been feeling a little more, uh, cheery?" Steve asked.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. I don't think so. No one's said I was overly annoying," Jess reported. "This is what you're talking about, right? I was super, duper annoying when I was under the Tesseract's power."

"True, but Dr Selvig wasn't mentally unstable," Loki argued.

Jess snorted. "Yeah, he kind of was. He thought the Tesseract was talking, was a girl, and treated it like his kid. He refused to eat and sleep, as well. Is he acting like that again or something?"

"I'm not sure how he's acting," Loki admitted, looking to the screen to find Coulson was now off the phone. "Agent Coulson, how is Agent Barton?"

"He's fine. He's not noticed anything and he's looking into the others you had under your influence. However, from what I've overheard you and Ms Witton discuss, it seems that you and Dr Selvig have reacted, but no one else."

"Why Loki and Selvig?" Steve asked, looking at Loki with concerned eyes.

"Oh," Jess breathed. "Oh! OH! OH! It's happening! Loki!"

"What?"

"Could you please put her on speaker?" Coulson requested.

Loki did ask he asked.

"Loki! _Thor 2_ is happening!"

"Yes, I believe it is," Loki admitted.

"Dude," Jess breathed. "Selvig…he made a really deep connection to the Tesseract. He'd been exposed a lot longer than anyone else. Also, Clint, while he so called spoke to the Cube of Insanity in the movie, his head is a lot more organized and ordered than Selvig due to his profession. Clint was rather controlled and cold while under the power. Well, in the movie. In reality, I don't think he actually consulted with the cube because I was there. So, he was basically himself only more than willing to do what Reindeer Games wanted without question. Selvig, though, he communed with the cube. He breathed and lived that stupid thing."

"Are you trying to say that it's the Tesseract making him run around in his naked at Stone Hedge?" Coulson causally asked.

"Well, that's just weird," Jess said. "I don't know. But, I'm not acting any more annoying than I usually am and as far as I know, Clint doesn't want to go out and be all solider on us, does he?"

"No," Coulson said. "He is fine and has not noticed anything since the rock fell to Earth."

"But Selvig went a little whacko?" Jess inquired.

"Correct."

"And Loki's been a little Reindeer Games?"

"Yes," Loki grudgingly admitted.

"But everyone else is fine?" Jess asked.

"That seems to be the case," Coulson reaffirmed.

"Then, it must be the depth of the connection. I don't know what is going on, but Loki and Selvig were the only two really exposed long term to the effects of the cube. Right?"

"Yes," Loki breathed, gripping Steve's hand as his mind whirled. "Thank you for your input, Jessica."

"Anytime, Lo. Can I go back to bed?"

"Yes, please."

"You'll call me when it's over?"

Loki glanced at Coulson, who nodded and began to hum loudly.

"Yes, of course. Goodnight, Jessica."

"Night, y'all!"

And she hung up.

"Loki? What did you realize?" Steve asked, reading Loki like a book.

Coulson stopped humming and looked serious once more.

"The Tesseract and the Aether are related in a sense," Loki admitted. "We call them Infinity Stones. When put all together…they are quite powerful. They've never been close or near enough together for them to be a worry before in my lifetime. However, it is feasible that since the Aether broke loose of its cage, the remnants of the Tesseract's influence are reacting to being so close to another Infinity Stone."

"And because you and Dr Selvig were the only two people on Earth to be effected on a deeper level, you are the two who are reacting?"

Loki nodded. "It is a…sound theory."

"It explains your horrible mood swings," Steve quietly admitted. At Loki's scowl, Steve scrambled to explain. "You'd been doing better! I mean, you were sorting yourself out, allowing yourself to express that side more often instead of allowing it to fester. Then the rock fell in Anchorage and you…well, had these mood swings."

Steve rubbed the back of his neck.

"It felt like you were moving backwards," Steve quietly confessed. "And yet, you seemed to be dealing better than you had been, so I didn't bring it up."

Loki frowned, looking away from Steve and ignoring the silent, stoic image of Coulson on his laptop screen.

"I've been dealing, but it still breaks free too often," Loki whispered. "But, it makes sense. Are you sure Clint is well?"

"Yes, he sounded like himself and no one has noticed anything out of the ordinary. He is, I am ashamed to admit, watched very closely since the incident."

Loki nodded. "A good precaution."

"You all are, though, no one noticed anything about any of you except for Selvig, who has began to act a little batty a few weeks ago. I will get the information to you," Coulson said, looking a bit far away. "Or, if you feel up to it, you and Captain Rogers may join us here."

"Where is here?"

Coulson pressed his lips together before he clearly made a choice that he knew he wasn't supposed to make, but he was going to make it damn them all.

"I'll give you directions to the air field."

* * *

_We all learn to make mistakes / And run from them, from them with no direction / We'll run from them, from them with no conviction_

_-Paramore, "Misguided Ghosts"_


	3. Stars Fell On

**Disclaimer: I do now own any of the Marvel characters. Nor do I own Thor: The Dark World, screenplay by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely; story by Don Payne and Robert Rodat. If you know it, I do not own it.**

* * *

**_Stars Fell On_**

* * *

_I'm over this / I'm tired of living in the dark / Can anyone see me down here / The feeling's gone, there's nothing left to lift me up / Back to the world I know_

_-3 Doors Down, "Away From the Sun"_

* * *

The healers of Asgard could do nothing. That, though, didn't stop Thor from dragging Jane to see them after Frigga had originally taken her. Jane would rather have remained with Frigga in her garden, but Thor wanted the Aether OUT and no matter what anyone said, he was going to figure out how to do it. So far, all he'd come up with was dragging her to see the healer Eir again.

Yeah, it'd be fun to be told again she was slowly being eaten alive by an alien substance.

"Are you sure?" Thor demanded, radiating frustration and power.

"Yes, my prince, I am quite sure," the head healer, Eir, assured Thor for the billionth time.

Jane sighed. At least the healers didn't poke, prod, and jab her with needles. They mostly simply waved hands around and left Jane feeling kind of warm and fuzzy. (This was the only reason she wasn't complaining about the multiple body scans she'd been subjected to.)

"How did Loki believe it could be removed if what you are saying is true?" Thor demanded. He looked down at Jane, who was still flat on her back on the healing bed. "Jane, Loki was not lying was he when he said you needed Odin to remove the Aether, correct?"

Jane nodded. "I'm not sure why, but I can only really tell when Loki and Odin are lying. And you."

She pointed a finger at Eir.

"Have I lied?"

"No, not to me, you haven't. You lied to that person over there," Jane said, pointing to a prone figure on a nearby bed. "I don't know what the hell is wrong with that guy, but whatever you told him was a lie."

"He is an enemy," Thor rumbled, sharply looking at Eir. "What did you tell him?"

Eir looked serious. "He would live to see another day. He is grievously injured. I lied out of kindness."

"That's fine," Jane quickly assured, pushing herself to sit on up on her elbows. "But you kind of…well, I just got that feeling. It was that way with Loki and Odin when they lied. I knew they were lying."

Eir nodded. "You can tell when someone with strong magic uses lies."

"I can?" Jane squeaked.

"Has Mother lied to you?" Thor inquired.

"No, I guess not if I'm a magical being lie detector," Jane mumbled. "She's been honest."

"That is Mother," Thor agreed. He grinned. "She's taken a great liking to you."

Jane nodded as Thor extended his hand to aid her to sit upright. Frigga did seem to take to Jane rather quickly, but Jane had a feeling it had to do with how Jane saw through Loki and believed him when he said Odin could help her.

Odin could help Jane. He simply refused to help because he wished to contain the Aether and didn't know how. And was unwilling to figure out at the moment how to contain it. It was contained— in Jane.

Jane also reasoned Frigga might like her because Jane reminded her of Loki before he'd gone off the wire. In the past twenty-four hours Jane had heard many Thor and Loki as kids stories during Jane's time with the queen and a common theme was Loki was a curious fellow while Thor enjoyed bashing thing over the head. Jane's never ending curiosity amused the queen and she was more than willing to indulge Jane.

Jane liked her.

A wailing noise broke the Jane's reverie. She looked around, taking in the alarmed expressions on Thor's and Eir's faces before she felt her stomach drop out.

"Asgard's been breeched," Thor bellowed. "Jane, remain here."

Thor went running out of the healing rooms before Jane could object. Eir placed a hand on her shoulder, keeping her in place with great strength.

"Remain calm," the woman said, waving her hand. A shimmering power fell around the rooms. "I've raised the shields on this room. Only those of Asgardian birth are able to enter or leave. You must remain here. I fear those who are after the power that infects you have arrived."

Jane shivered, wrapping her arms around her middle.

"We will be getting more wounded. Let me show you how to use healing stones," Eir said, guiding Jane away and giving her something to focus on.

* * *

_You won't find him tryin'a chase the devil for money, fame, for power out of greed / You won't ever find him where the rest go / You will find him, you'll find him next to me._

_-Emeli Sande, "Next to Me"_

* * *

"Having a familiar face helped greatly."

"That's good. Did you bring him in?"

"Yes. He's upstairs. He wouldn't put any pants on," the red headed woman reported flatly. "Is Laufey-Odinson acting any differently?"

Loki looked up from the computer and glared at Natasha Romanov. A small smirk appeared on her lips, but her eyes never left Coulson's.

"He's having mood swings," Coulson reported.

"Like PMS," Skye offered, then thoughtfully added, "Or he's pregnant."

Loki buried his face in his hands.

Steve choked.

"I'm not pregnant," Loki sneered. "I'm currently male."

"Are you saying you do turn into a woman?" Skye asked, her eyes lighting up.

"He can't turn into a woman!" Simmons exclaimed.

"In the myths he did, and we all know they aren't as myth-like as we once thought!" Skye reminded the scientist.

Darcy offered her two cents, "Asgardians dudes don't get pregnant! Thor said a lot of the myths are exaggerations. He had too much ale, told some fibs, they became legends, yada, yada, yada!"

"Too much ale," Loki grumbled. "Are you sure it was too much ale, or it was just an angry woman who thought it'd be oh so funny to tell the mortals that stupid little Loki gave birth to the eight legged horse?"

"HA!" Skye boomed, pointing at Loki.

"He didn't give birth to a horse," Darcy and Steve said in unison.

"Then…where did it come from?" Skye challenged. "Who'd make up an eight legged horse?"

"I did," Loki replied. "But, I didn't give birth to it."

"Then where'd it come from?"

"I created him for my father," Loki snapped, standing up suddenly. "Excuse me."

Loki whirled around and stalked out of the lab, heading up the stairs. He honestly had no idea where he was heading. He hadn't been given a tour of the large airplane Coulson's team called home. He reached the top of the stairs and found himself in a rather large, formal, modern looking room where Selvig sat, scribbling on a white board at top speed all the while talking a million miles an hour.

Loki stopped at the top of the stairs, wondering if he ought to leave. A moment later, the floor creaked. Selvig turned, saw Loki, screamed, and ran away.

"Oops," Loki said, moving into the room and studying the nonsense Selvig was writing. Loki couldn't make heads or tails of it, so he continued on his way to find somewhere private to sulk.

He soon discovered the bunk-rooms that Coulson's team all lived in.

Loki wanted to go back to the hotel room. At least there was a king sized bed there. And a private bathroom. And an actual room. That was big enough for him and Steve to use together. The little so called rooms Coulson's team lived in were only as big as the mattress located within the enclosure. Finally finding an empty cubby hole, Loki scowled, but threw himself down and stared up at the ceiling.

"Scooch."

Loki looked up to find Steve towering over him, waving his hands for Loki to scoot over. Loki shimmied over to the side till he was plastered against the wall of the plane and Steve could get into the bunk and shut the curtain/door.

"I do not know if I can handle this," Loki admitted.

"Staying on the plane or dealing with…all these people?"

"Both."

Steve smiled, carding his fingers through Loki's hair. Loki closed his eyes, sighing and letting himself get lost in the feeling of Steve's fingers in his hair.

"Can you actually get pregnant in your female form?" Steve quietly asked, sounding timid.

Loki cracked his eyes open a little and found Tomato Steve had made a reappearance.

"I do not know. I've never tried," Loki honestly replied.

"Tried to get pregnant or tried…to, uh, well, uh…fondu?"

Loki chuckled, feeling himself relax further. (He had discovered a few weeks after he had arrived on Earth to live that Steve tended to refer to anything having to do with the more intimate aspects of relationships as fondu. Someday, Loki hoped Steve would fully explain why he did this.) Steve continued to run his fingers through Loki's hair, even though he was more than likely wishing he could hide under a rock. Yet, he was the one who'd brought up the embarrassing topic, not Loki so Loki wasn't going to back off the topic.

"Neither, if I am honest," Loki admitted, closing his eyes again. "I found it distasteful to use…_fondue_ to get what I wanted when I could just use words. If it failed as a man, I could use my female form, but there was never any need to do anything further than to weave words together. Words are all I ever have used to manipulate. Hence, the nickname Silver Tongue."

"What did you use your female form for? I mean…uh…I…well, I don't mean to assume that's all you can do as a woman."

"I used it to distract enemies, to get Thor out of trouble, and to be able to not be recognized while walking around the palace. While my female form, I believed, looks exactly like me only a little softer, no one was any wiser and I felt free."

Loki felt Steve nod.

"Why do you ask, Steven? Are you afraid I would give birth to a horse?"

"What? No," Steve quickly said. "No, I was just…curious. I don't know how the shape shifting works. Like, do your insides change too? Or just your outside?"

"As a young child, I did investigate when I discovered the talent to shape shift. The outside changed fully, yet I was unable to investigate the inside without cutting myself open."

"Ah."

"Is this something you'd like to investigate?" Loki inquired opening his eyes to take in Steve in all his tomato red glory. He smiled at the sight of his partner channeling a fiery cherry and regretting starting this conversation.

"I…I…no, I don't think so," Steve admitted. "Do you?"

Loki shrugged. "I am a little curious, but I do not wish to make you uncomfortable. I know you are, Steven."

Steve looked as if he wished to say something, but there was a loud knock above their heads somewhere and Coulson cleared his throat.

"We've discovered a way to maybe put some doors on these portals. Mind coming back to the lab?" he inquired.

"Be right down, Agent Coulson," Loki called back. He reached up, put his cool hands on Steve's hot face, and kissed him briefly. "You remain here. No one needs to see you this scarlet except me."

"And Clint," Steve muttered, allowing Loki to roll him over so they switched sides. Somehow they were able to manage this without tangling limbs.

"I doubt Clint's seen you this shade of red," Loki teased, opening the curtain/door and standing.

Steve grumbled as Loki shut the curtain/door and headed back down to the lab.

* * *

_Just a perfect day / You made me forget myself / I thought I was someone else, someone good_

_-Lou Reed, "Perfect Day" _

* * *

Waiting was the worse. The alarm had been silenced and within the healing room, no noise of battle reached sounded. Jane sat on the bed and picked at her nails, feeling worry well up. She had a stack of healing stones next to her, but had yet to need to use one.

"Shouldn't they bring the wounded to you?"

"They will come," Eir calmly replied. "Just be patient and do not worry for Prince Thor. He has seen many battles and never came out worse for wear."

"Really?" Jane inquired. "I find that hard to believe. Last battle I saw him in, he died."

"His mortal body died," Eir corrected. "However, in doing so, he did as the All-Father had hoped and he learned to be humble and unselfish. Due to those facts, Prince Thor became worthy once more and his powers returned."

"And he came back from the dead," Jane muttered, remembering her shock when Thor was suddenly, well, godlike.

"He 'twas not dead for long," Eir said, breezily doing something that looked complicated over a large bowl.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting ready to treat the injured," Eir replied. "I'll need more than healing stones to treat the injuries. Healing stones only slow down the damage of life threatening wounds."

Jane stood and went to stand next to Eir. She wasn't sure how long she stood there studying the materials Eir was working with before the whole palace suddenly shook. Jane grabbed onto the table and looked to Eir for advice. Eir, though, looked just as shocked as Jane.

"I take it you don't have earthquakes in Asgard," Jane commented. At Eir's blank look, she said, "Yeah, I figured you didn't."

* * *

_And in the dim of yesterday, I can clearly see that flesh and blood cried out to someone / As it does in me_

_-Johnny Cash, "Before My Time"_

* * *

In order to put doors over the portals, each fully formed portal needed to be visited in person by either Loki, Fitz, or Simmons.

"Too bad we can't use them," Darcy said from next to Loki.

Loki had been assigned Darcy and the intern shadow as a partner. He was less than pleased, even if she and the intern were more than well equip to carry things for him.

"Use them for what, Ms Lewis?" Loki inquired tiredly.

The woman seriously did not shut up.

"To explore! To boldly go where no one has gone before!"

"They lead to places I've been before," Loki pointed out, wishing he had his magic now more than ever. If he'd had his magic, it would be easy to create the doors. As it was, using math and science to create an energy barrier in front of the portal was very time consuming to set up. It also required the use of a device that could fail at any given time. And they had a finite number of devices to work with.

Not all portals would receive doors.

"Uh, Lokes, is the portal supposed to be doing that?"

Loki's head snapped up where he'd been programing the device (he couldn't remember the inane name Fitz had given it) to see the portal shimmering and activating. He slowly stood up, throwing a long arm out to get Darcy to stand behind him.

"How are you going to defend me if a giant strides on through?"

"I'm not weak," Loki hissed as a being dressed in teal tumbled out of the portal, rolling on the ground.

Loki backed up a few steps, pushing Darcy backwards till the being stopped rolling on the ground. It was at that moment he realized who was on the ground before him.

"Mother?"

Loki stopped trying to protect Darcy and hurried forward to where his mother was not standing up.

"Mother?" he asked again, worry filling his tone.

He reached out slowly and put a hand on her shoulder to roll her onto her back. He gasped as he saw the damage to her middle. There was blood. Everywhere. A gaping hole. Blood. So much blood.

"Loki?" rasped Mother.

"Mother, what happened?" Loki pleaded, tears forming behind his eyes. He felt helpless. "Mother, please tell me who did this to you!"

He looked at his mother's pain filled face. Her eyes slowly opened and she met his own, suddenly smiling.

"Oh, Loki," she whispered. "Loki, Loki…"

"Mother…if you just hold on…LEWIS!"

"Already on it!" Darcy shouted from somewhere behind him. "What do you need?"

"Something…she's bleeding…"

Loki had no clue what to do.

His mother was dying.

"Here," the intern said, bending down on Mother's other side and pressing something to her middle. She cringed in pain. "Sorry, ma'am."

"It is fine, good man," she said, looking over at the intern. "It is most kind."

Intern nodded, but said nothing and kept his eyes averted.

"Mother, who did this to you?"

"Loki, you must go back," Mother pleaded, her voice getting weaker. "You must save Jane. Your father…he refuses to aid her and I am not strong enough. I believe only he has the power, but doesn't know how to contain the Aether to add it to his collection."

Loki seethed.

"Trickery, Loki, my son. Asgard needs trickery."

Loki frowned, grabbing at the hand Mother lifted up. He could feel the life draining out of her.

"Who did this?"

"Battle with Malekith and his Kursed. He searches for Jane," Mother replied. "She…Thor…Asgard needs change."

Loki frowned, but leaned down and pressed his mother's hand to his chest.

"I have no magic. Father won't return it."

"No fear, my darling son," Mother assured weakly. Suddenly she moved with speed she should not have and pressed something into Loki's hand before falling back to the ground with a dull thud. Intern let out a noise of surprise and fell onto his behind.

"Mother!" Loki shrieked.

He tried to put on her back, but she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and whispered, "I love you. Never forget that, Loki. I love you and you are my son."

The life bled out of her on a London street. Loki felt the tears streaming down his cheeks, yet he felt numb. He knew that people around him were moving, talking, and doing things, but all he could see was his dead mother— the woman who loved him, nurtured him, and never wished him to be anything he wasn't already. She'd taken him into her home, a Frost Giant runt, and loved him as much as she loved her own flesh and blood.

"LOKI!"

Loki's head snapped up and he stared at Darcy as if he didn't know her.

He didn't, not really.

She wasn't important either.

He had to get Mother back to Asgard for a proper burial. He also needed to go back to carry out his mother's last wish. He wasn't sure Jane could change Asgard, but she'd tempered Thor so maybe she could change Asgard. Loki was sure that without his aid, Asgard would fall because of Odin's failing to remove the Aether from Jane and destroy it.

Trickery. Something he was despised for his whole life was what his mother requested of him. Trickery.

Still holding onto his mother, he looked at what she'd pressed into his hand. He instantly recognized it. It was a magical cuff and was engraved by his own mother for Loki to use in case of an emergency. She could not restore his magic that Odin had bound, but she could give him access for a limited amount of time. If anything happened to the bracelet (or he tried to do something the bracelet didn't like) before the time limit was up, he would be doomed to live his life without magic, as the bracelet would sap it out of him.

He'd also become mortal. He'd become human: unmagical and weak.

It was a chance he was willing to take.

For his mother.

For his brother.

For Asgard.

For the Nine Realms.

He slapped the golden cuff on his wrist. It instantly transformed itself to fit perfectly to his wrist as if it were apart of his body.

"I am going to Asgard," Loki announced hollowly. He turned and found Darcy hovering near Intern, looking unsure of how to aid him. "Once I am through, activate the device. Just hit the red button."

"Loki," Darcy started.

Loki cut her a look. She didn't continue speaking and took a few steps backwards.

Loki was sure he looked dangerous and as if he was a bag of cats (as Bruce was found of saying when Reindeer Games came out to play).

Scooping his mother up into his arms, Loki stood up. He thought about calling his Asgardian armor to him, as he was walking into a battle, but he simple put a shield up around himself and his mother.

"Ms Lewis?"

"Yeah?" the girl squeaked.

"Please tell Steven I will try to return," Loki flatly requested, turning away and going through the portal.

Loki found himself in one of the rooms his mother used to entertain in Asgard. It was empty, save for over turned, ruined furniture. No sooner has he took in his surroundings the door burst open as a window shattered. Odin loomed in the doorway while Thor slowly stood up from the shower of glass. Thor appeared shocked to see Loki, while Odin looked outraged.

"What have you done?" Odin hissed, his eyes narrowing and the grip on his staff tightening.

"I've done nothing but bring Mother home," Loki flatly replied, glaring at Odin. "She came through the portal behind me that I know you can feel and died on a street in London before me."

"No," Thor roared, falling his knees, hammer clanking as it hit the floor.

The whole palace shook, causing Loki to stumble. Loki regained his footing easily to find Odin radiating power, fury, and grief. From experience, Loki knew those three things were a dangerous combination.

"Loki, bring your mother to her chambers. I will send for the servants to prepare her for burial."

Odin glared at Loki, but Loki nodded. He quickly moved passed Odin and Thor and out of the room. He swiftly walked down the hallways, heading for his mother's chambers. He was no where near the family wing when he came across Jane Foster, who was running as fast as her short legs would carry her.

She came to a dead stop about three feet from Loki and her whole face fell.

"Oh, no."

She covered her mouth with her hand and began to cry.

"Jane Foster, you must hide yourself now," Loki advised. He felt cold and detached, but he had a job to do. He had to protect Jane, get her out of Asgard, and preform a trick to get Malekith to extract the Aether from her system.

Malekith had power akin to Odin and would not hesitate to withdraw the Aether from anyone or anything.

"What?"

"Odin will lock you away, claiming he is doing so to protect you. The Elves have breached Asgard. Go to my chambers. I am sure the Aether will allow you inside if you so wish to be inside. Forgive the dust, but I've not been in those rooms for nearly two years. Follow me."

Jane followed him without questioning him, which in the back of Loki's mind amazed him.

"Down that hall," he instructed. "The dark doors ingrained with gold and not silver."

"Silver are Thor's rooms," Jane quietly said, moving away from Loki. "Loki, what will happen? Will there be a funeral?"

"Yes. Tonight as soon as the sun sets we will send her to Valhalla."

Jane nodded. "Will I be able to attend?"

Loki frowned. "Of course, Jane Foster. I will come for you, as no one else may enter my chambers."

"But I can?"

"Yes."

Loki turned and headed to his mother's personal quarters.

* * *

_All this time I was finding myself and I didn't know I was lost / I tried carrying the weight of the world but I only have two hands_

_-Avivii, "Wake Me Up"_

* * *

Jane stood in front of the doors Loki had told her would let her inside. There was no handle to the door. Frowning, she placed her hand on the door and said, "Uh, let me enter, please?"

She felt, through the door, it lock unlocking. She jumped away as the door opened, allowing her into the dark, musty smelling rooms. She entered and found the rooms exactly as Loki had said: dusty. She crossed the room, her shoes leaving imprints in the dust on the floor. She threw the heavy, velvety green curtains to the side and bathed the room in light and took in the mess that was Loki's main room.

The whole place was covered in paper. Scrolls upon scrolls of paper littered every flat surface. The walls were lined with books, most of which appeared to be well read. She didn't feel welcome exploring more of the rooms, so she found a chair and dragged it closer to the window. After opening the window to get some fresh air, she sat down. After five minutes, she was too antsy to just sit around and wait for Loki to come get her, so she decided to investigate the books on the walls. She had thought she'd be unable to read the titles, but each one appeared to be in English. She grabbed a book at random and flipped it open.

The book was about the stars of Asgard. She wandered back over to her chair and sat down, reading about the unknown stars she'd seen the night before out her window.

She was unsure how long she sat there till the door opened quietly, without the clunk of locks unlocking. She closed the book and stood as Loki came in, his shoulders drooping and grief dripping off him.

"The funeral is in about an hour. I stopped by your rooms and gathered proper clothing. We wear armor to funerals," Loki explained. "I've let Thor know you are here and he agreed it was best to keep you here. Odin is not in the best state of mind and wishes to lock you in the dungeons. Trust me, you do not wish to be there."

"No, I think not."

"I will mask you in shadows with myself so we both may attend the funeral. I'm not welcome either," Loki explained. "Asgard believes me still in jail for my crimes."

Jane nodded. "Why?"

"Why do they believe that? I would think it lets them sleep at night," Loki said, setting the pile of clothing down on the table near Jane.

He frowned in distaste at the amount of dust in the room. He waved his hand and the dust vanished. Jane frowned, wondering how he'd done magic. No sooner had she thought this, her eyes were drawn to his right wrist where a golden cuff was fused. Loki met her gaze steadily, almost challenging her to ask.

She didn't.

"I will show you a room you can use to change."

Loki strode passed her to the hidden staircase behind one of the bookcases. She followed him down dark halls, the only light coming from flames that popped up as Loki strode passed and went out as soon as he was about five feet away.

"Here, Jane Foster. If you require aid with the armor, just call me to your side. If you would excuse me."

"You can just call me Jane, Loki," Jane quietly said.

Loki stared at her with an unemotional mask and nodded curtly. She watched him walk off till the darkness ate him.

She knew he was grieving. She knew he wanted revenge, but he was not lying to her. Odin would lock her away and he was not in the right mind at the moment to deal with the danger at hand. He was an old, flawed man who had just lost his wife of a million years. The same wife who'd used her last ounce of life to find a portal and go to her adopted son who was on another planet. Jane wondered how long it had taken Frigga to find a portal that would take her to Loki. Yeah, there were portals forming all over and they all went to Midgard, but what were the odds Loki happened to be near the one Frigga chose? Not very high.

Jane set the pile of clothing down and noticed the room was filled with more dust than the main room she'd spent the afternoon within. Sneezing, Jane quickly changed out of the gold gown and into the new one Loki had provided. She spent maybe ten minutes trying to get the armor on before she gave up and asked, "Loki, some help?"

A moment later there was a knocking on the door.

"Come in," Jane said, fumbling with the piece that went on her shoulder.

Or at least that was where she thought it went there.

"Forgive me," Loki began, once he was inside the room. He waved his hand and the dust cleared away and suddenly the room smelled of fresh flowers instead of stale musk. "I forgot this room would be very dusty. I've not had guests in my quarters in at least three centuries."

"No wonder I was sneezing," Jane muttered. "Where does this go?"

"You had the right spot," Loki assured her.

Unfeelingly, he aided her in getting the various bits of armor on her body. It felt uncomfortable to have him so close, yet she knew he would never try anything or harm her in any sense.

"So, uh, you are allowed guests in your rooms? I mean, you've got guest rooms," Jane said.

Loki straightened up and stared at her blankly.

"Of course. Unless you are a VIP," Loki replied, making Jane jerk when he used Earth slang. "Then you would rank your own quarters."

"Oh," Jane said, realizing she must have ranked pretty high to have her own rooms. "I see."

Loki nodded, turning and walking out of the room, his cape billowing behind him. Even though no one would see either of them, he'd dressed in his Asgardian armor. It wasn't anything like what she'd seen him in on the news, but something else all together that somehow looked softer and more regal.

The helmet still looked stupid, but she wasn't going to tell him that.

When Jane entered the hallway, it was lit again, only this time with a softer, less harsh fire light, smelled a lot cleaner, and was no longer dusty. She trailed after Loki as he led her through the halls and back to the main room.

"Have you spoken to Thor?"

"Passed telling him where you are, no. He was worried when you were not with Eir, but passed that he's yet to realize you must leave Asgard to remove the Aether."

Truth. He was speaking the truth.

"You have a plan?"

"Correct."

"Do I get to know it?"

"I would think not, Jane," Loki said, a steely tone to his voice. "For it to work, it must be Thor's plan. Trickery for battle is frowned upon in this establishment."

Jane wanted to laugh, as the baby's voice from that commercial sounded in her mind at his phrasing, but she knew it was not the time. Nor did she want to believe Loki was making a pop culture reference in his state.

"What trick do you wish to play?"

"One on Malekith. Then I will kill him. And the Kursed one who does his killing."

And _that_ frighted Jane just a little, as Loki was radiating danger once again, only this time it was very focused. Before, he was dangerous because he was a little insane, a little crazy. Now he was fueled with revenge, with purpose.

He was a huge ball of rage.

"Do you have problem with that?"

"I will only have a problem if you make me watch," Jane replied, feeling it was the honest answer. While she wasn't really for revenge— an eye for an eye, or the death penalty— she would not deny this for Loki. And not simply because of how he was tittering on the edge of being unbalanced and completely insane. No, Jane would give Loki his revenge because Malekith needed to be out of the universe (and maybe this Kurse thing as well if it did the dirty work for Malekith). Since no one knew how to destroy the Aether, might as well destroy the being (beings) who would use it to bring the end of days.

Having spent so much time with the Aether, she knew it itself wasn't evil. Yeah, it was drenched in blood red color and was powerful, but it wasn't dangerous till you used it wrong— like many things of power in the wrong hands, it was a weapon. In other hands it was simply a tool.

If only Jane wasn't mortal. That was the only reason the substance was slowly killing her. She could feel it now, the slow death she was dying as the Aether ate away at her blood, her muscles, at her very being. If she was stronger, if she was say Asgardian, this wouldn't be a that big of a problem. She'd be able to wield the power like Loki wielded magic. As it was, it simply made her a magical being lie detector and gave her random insights into things that allowed her to make choices she wouldn't have made, but now made because she knew they were right.

It was why she'd gone to Loki's rooms. It was why she would do as he asked till the Aether was no longer in her system. It was why she'd allow him his revenge.

Even if it snapped his grip on reality and pushed him over into the dark side.

They neared a door that would lead them outside. Jane hurried the few steps to where Loki was and grabbed his hand. He glanced down at her and she gave him a timid smile.

Together, they walked out and headed for where the rest of Asgard was gathered to bury their queen.

* * *

_You've done all the things that could kill you somehow / And you're so far down, but you will survive this somehow_

_-Three Days Grace, "Life Starts Now" _


	4. Like No Place on Earth

**Disclaimer: I do now own any of the Marvel characters. Nor do I own Thor: The Dark World, screenplay by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely; story by Don Payne and Robert Rodat. If you know it, I do not own it.**

* * *

**_Like No Place on Earth_**

* * *

_I heard the thunder over Canaan / And I heard the angels cry and their voices came revealing / As you live, so you will die_

_-Roy Orbison, "Coming Home"_

* * *

The funeral was beautiful. Jane had never witnessed something as melancholy and graceful as the exit of Queen Firgga. No one stood up and said all the wonderful things Queen Frigga had achieved. They simply lit these round globes and let them loose into the air silently as a bunch of casket boats (filled with the fallen Asgardians) that were aflame drifted after the casket boat that was further out on a lake that contained the Queen.

Jane desperatly wished to ask why they were sending the queen to fall out over the edge of Asgard (Asgard was flat, just like people once thought the Earth was flat), but refrained.

"Odin will light the casket on fire and and sent her off to Valhalla before she falls into the void between worlds," Loki intoned emotionlessly.

Loki and Jane were standing near Thor and Odin, both dressed in their best armor by the dock. Jane knew no one could see them, but she got the feeling Thor knew she and Loki were standing with the remaining members of the royal family.

Jane glanced over her shoulder to find a mass of people standing under the lit globes as they slowly rose up in the air. Many had tears glazing their faces, but most wore emotionless expressions, which seemed to be the norm in Asgard. Jane turned back towards the lake and felt Odin bang his big old spear no the ground twice. Instantly the boat holding Frigga's body caught on fire before it toppled over the edge and into nothingness.

Only it didn't topple. It twisted midair and then turned into millions of stars.

Or what appeared to be stars.

"She is on her way to Valhalla now," Odin proclaimed in an official sounding voice.

There were blessings and prayers uttered by the masses behind them. Jane chanced a glance up at Loki, who still wore his emotionless mask, yet she could feel the grief and sorrow flowing off of him in waves. Without thinking, she reached over took his hand and squeezed. If it startled him, he did not show it, but he also did not remove his hand from hers.

* * *

_It can't be forgotten like old acquaintances / I realize how depressing of a place it is / And when I notice my reflection whose face it is_

_-The Roots, "I Remember" _

* * *

"Brother, we're going to have to pretend you are in confinement in the dudgeons," Thor announced the moment he joined Jane and Loki in Loki's chambers.

"I will change," Loki said, leaving Jane and Thor alone in the main room. He made his way to his quarters and into the wardrobe. The outfit he was looking for wasn't in the closet. The outfit he was looking for didn't actually exist any longer as he was sure Odin had it burned upon his incarceration (not that it'd had stood up to the beating the Hulk had dealt out, not to mention Stark's house falling on Loki's head).

Loki didn't want to use his magic to make his princely armor into the outfit he wore when he invaded Mid— Earth. He had limited access to his magic through the cuff his mother had given him and the price he paid to use the magic was so high, he wasn't going to use it to change his clothing. Simple things like cleaning his quarters drained him. Loki was nursing a massive headache from masking Jane and himself during the funeral. He didn't think he could handle conjuring clothing for himself on top of the magic he needed to perform for Thor's plan to work.

He was at a loss on what to change into.

"Loki?"

Loki looked over his shoulder to find Thor standing behind him holding a pile of folded clothing and pieces of metal armor.

"I'm not the best at tailoring clothing, but I did the best I could," Thor apologized, extending the bundle towards Loki.

Reaching out slowly, Loki took the armor of the Mad One. He felt a swirl of various emotions upon holding the armor he'd fashioned in the company of the Other and Thanos. He trailed his fingers over the vambraces and chest plate, unsure how to feel. His warring sides were feeling almost too much.

"You polished the armor well, brother," Loki said evenly, amazed he kept his voice flat and emotionless. "And you were wise to keep this. It is very likely your friends will not react kindly if I wear armor that proclaims I'm a prince of Asgard."

Thor pressed his lips together, but did not jump to defend the Band of Idiots.

Looking over the rest of the outfit once Thor left him alone, Loki found that while Thor wasn't the best at repairing rips in the leather, it didn't take a lot of magic to smooth over the troubled spots or simply cover them up with his repaired coat (which was done quite nicely to the point Loki had a sinking feeling Mother had aided Thor).

Loki wasn't sure why Thor had gone through the trouble of repairing the outfit he was currently holding. Then again, Thor was the only one who had believed there was hope for the Mad One (something Loki was later thankful for after he put himself together). Maybe Thor truly understood what the armor meant?

While Loki hadn't been exactly himself when he fashioned it, it was a statement to his independence from the boy he used to be. It was still in Asgardian fashion, yet there was something to the outfit that was completely unique to Loki.

Upon donning the entire outfit, Loki felt his stomach twist. The Mad aspect of him was pleased, while the other half of him wasn't sure how to feel upon seeing himself in the armor he last wore when he tried his hand at world domination.

His hair was much shorter than it had been when he'd last worn the outfit. Sif and the Warriors Two would expect him to have longer hair from being in confinement. Concentrating on his shapeshifting abilities, he grew his hair out till it flowed around his shoulders. He did not enjoy his hair that long (it'd forever be in his face), but it added to the convicted war criminal facade, which was what Thor's friends expected.

He'd get rid of the hair before he went back home to Steve.

Nodding, Loki turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.

"I've explained to Jane our plan," Thor announced when Loki entered the room. Loki quirked an eyebrow, unaware the plan belonged to the pair of them. Loki had had no part in coming up with the plan. It'd been all Thor's idea. Which amazed Loki, due to certain aspects of the plan which relied heavily on Loki and his borrowed magic to execute.

Thor went on without bothering to take note of Loki's honest surprise, "We will leave through the secret passage behind your fireplace and emerge from the dungeons."

"It might make sense for Jane to be found in your chambers," Loki suggested thinking over the plan, "Odin proclaimed she needed to be locked up and angered you. It'll be assumed you'd be protecting her. You should let your friends know to retrieve her from there."

"He's right," Jane agreed. "Can I get into his chambers from here?"

"Of course," Loki easily agreed. "There is a passage way to Thor's quarters just behind this bookcase."

Loki eased the bookcase open. Jane peered into the dark passageway, frowning a little. Loki waved his hand and the sconces all lit up.

"Till we meet again," Thor said, bowing to her, kissing her hand, and giving her a rather sappy look.

"Oh, uh, so, uh, good luck," Jane stuttered, blushing before vanishing behind the bookcase.

Loki eased it shut and turned to Thor before striding across the room and pulling down one of the sconces besides the fireplace. Thor quickly joined him on the hearth as the entire thing began to turn till they were on the other side in a dark, dusty hallway.

"Well, onward and upwards," Loki dryly commented, stalking off down the corridor, the torches lighting up as he stalked passed.

"Wait, Loki, I wish to speak to you before we begin this quest," Thor pleaded. "I know I've not informed you on the finer details."

Loki did not wait for Thor to catch up. Thor had longer, stronger legs, and moved faster than Loki when on a mission such as the one Loki assumed he was on.

"I need no finer details," Loki replied, staring forward and not looking at Thor. "I have the important details, do I not?"

"You do."

"Then, I will simply follow your lead till destroy the Aether and Malekith."

"You will?"

"Yes."

Loki glanced over at Thor to find him smiling softly.

"It is rather clever to have Malekith remove the Aether from Jane for us," Loki complimented.

Thor studied Loki for a moment before asking, "How have you been doing? I know you were standing next to me with Jane at Mother's funeral."

Loki nodded, jaw tightening.

"I want vengeance," Loki admitted out load. "I believe I can fulfill Mother's final wish and my own agenda."

Thor frowned, but did not contradict Loki. "Mother's final wish?"

Loki nodded jerkily. "Jane must remain alive."

He left out the bit about Asgard needing changing and trickery. He felt that with Thor's currently plan, trickery was well on its way to being accepted within Asgard. Change would follow.

"Is…the therapy working?"

"Sometimes. Today, though, is not a good day."

"Can I trust you?"

Loki paused at the door that would lead them in to the kitchens where they'd be able to use the shadows to make their way to the dungeons. As children, Thor and Loki often used the passageway to sneak desserts and other foodstuffs till they discovered they could get into the dungeons. To a child, it was exciting prospect till they actually got down there and saw what waited in the dark.

"Trust my rage," Loki said, a deadly tone to his voice that Steve would frown at.

Thor clamped a hand on his shoulder and nodded. "And mine as well."

* * *

_But as strong as I seem to think I am / My distressing damsel, she comes out at night when the moon's filled up / And your eyes are bright / Then I think I simply ought to_

_-Ingrid Michaelson, "Overboard" _

* * *

Jane waited in front room of Thor's chambers. Unlike Loki's front room, Thor's was decorated lavishly and loudly and there was not a book in sight. There were a lot of things in sight, some of which Jane was quite sure she didn't want to know what was what. You'd think Thor was the God of Chaos and not Loki by the state of the room. And this was the room he greeted guests in— Jane didn't really want to see his actual private rooms.

Tapping her fingers impatiently on her leg, Jane waited till there was a knock on the door. She carefully got up and opened a door a crack. A smiling face greeted her.

"Glad tidings, Lady Jane," Fandral greeted, somehow beaming at her even more. "Thor bid me to collect you for our secret quest while he collects his brother."

Jane quirked an eyebrow at how easily he referred to Loki as Thor's brother. While she hadn't had much contact with any of Thor's friends, she got the feeling none of them were fond of Loki, especially after the slights they perceived him doing to Asgard. (He didn't really do that much to Asgard. He did things in the name of Asgard, but really, what did he to do to Asgard except punish some traitors? They did disobey the king, who happened to be Loki. He had every—)

Why the hell was Jane mentally defending Loki again? He was crazy!

"Shall we?"

"Yeah, uh, wait, I need my coat," Jane said. "It's in my room."

Jane exited Thor's room and moved towards her own room's door, stepping over the guards who'd been waiting to take her to the dungeons Fandral had knocked out. After grabbing her coat, she joined Fandral in the hallway. They began to walk in a direction that was familiar to Jane, as she had taken these corridors to the throne room. As they turned a corner to find Sif, Thor, and Loki standing in the center of the long corridor. Sif was glaring at Loki as if he was the devil himself— which he seemed to be playing up judging by the grin on his face. Upon seeing Jane, Thor broke apart from the group and strided towards Jane. Jane watched as Loki began to follow, only to be stopped by Sif, who put her sword to his neck and said something, which only caused Loki to raise an eyebrow at her. She lowered her sword, glowered at him, and stalked off.

"Jane, are you ready?" Thor asked.

"Yeah. Just…"she trailed off as Loki and Sif reached them.

Something told her she should react adversely to Loki just as Sif had. So, just as she had when she'd first met Loki, she marched up to him and socked him in the jaw— only this time it didn't hurt her and she was positive she'd just hurt him.

"That's for Malibu," she proclaimed, injecting as much venom in her voice as she could.

Loki snapped his head back. His jaw worked a bit, then raised a hand to the spot where Jane's fist had met his pale skin before a smirk appeared his face.

"I like her."

Thor sighed.

Loki looked around till he found the last member of the group and stared over Jane's head at Fandral.

"Good day, Loki," Fandral greeted cheerily.

Loki gave the blond man a funny look, but did not respond other than by looking confused.

"Shall we begin?" Fandral asked. "Oh, and where is this door to the Dark World?"

Loki glanced at Thor who shrugged before he closed his eyes for a moment, before nodding. "There is a door that leads to the Dark World in the mountains by the lake."

Siff frowned deeply.

"Oh? Well, a boat will be greatly needed, then," Fandral mused, smiling fondly at Loki. Loki frowned deeply.

"Are you right in the head?" Loki inquired as Sif snorted.

"Rightto! I'll be seeing you!" Fandral chirped, turned on his heel and vanished down the hall.

"Why is he so cheery?" Loki demanded. "What is wrong with him?"

"Nothing. There is nothing wrong with him," Thor insisted. "Sif, if you distract the guards who are by now alert and looking for Jane?"

Sif nodded, stalking off in the direction Fandral and Jane had come.

* * *

_I wear this crown of thorns upon my liar's chair / Full of broken thoughts I cannot repair_

_-Nine Inch Nails, "Hurt"_

* * *

Thor led Jane and Loki through the palace and into the throne room where Volgstaff was waiting with a crashed Elvian ship. It was badly damaged, yet would suffice to make the trip into the mountains beyond Asgard where the portal Loki had accidentally discovered eons ago was located. Svartalfheim, a planet Loki never wanted to visit after his first time, was desolate and dead. It was amply nicknamed the Dark World and the stench of the dead infused into its very being.

"Can you undo these cuffs?" Loki inquired when Thor and he were alone on the bridge of the ship. Outside Volgstaff was battling with the guards who'd tried to stop Thor and company from getting on the ship. "We both know Jane knows I'll hurt her. Not that she's currently awake to be aware if I did."

(Jane had succumb to the Aether's drain on her life energy as soon as they were on the ship. She was quietly sleeping on the floor, her life force slowly recovering now that her brain was in sleep mode.)

Thor frowned, so Loki let out a loud sigh and slumped against the console.

"Fine. We'll keep the act up till Fandral goes away. He is not coming with us, correct? He's off getting a boat for some reason. Why does he think we need a boat?"

"He will distract the guards that will likely follow when we steal the ship. In a boat."

"How did you know we needed a ship to escape?" Loki inquired. "You knew before I told you were the portal was located."

"The portal the Dark Elves used to sneak into Asgard was beyond the city," Thor explained. "And several of them were wet. There is only one lake large enough for an army to enter and that is the lake in the mountains."

Loki nodded. "Really, brother, could we undo these? Fandral seems pleased to see me. And if he's just in the boat, he'll never see me."

"You are technically banished," Thor quietly said. "Father doesn't wish for you to…"

"Roam free. I know," Loki sighed, remembering the yelling match Thor and Odin had had after Loki had taken his mother's body to her chambers to be prepared for burial. "He is, though, stricken with grief."

Thor nodded, studying the controls in front of him.

"You should let me fly," Loki said, straightening up and changing the subject.

"I know how to fly," Thor insisted.

"With a hammer."

"And what, pray tell, have you flown, Brother?"

"Gliders," Loki replied.

Thor snorted. "Anyone can fly those."

"Not true. Only I and Romanov flew the gliders. We're not going to count the Chitari. They have no brain of their own."

Thor grunted and began to push buttons.

"Don't beat the buttons. Press them lightly," Loki suggested.

"I am pushing them lightly," Thor insisted. He finally did something that caused the ship to raise up off the ground. Thor began to turn the ship, breaking the columns in the throne room where the ship had originally crash landed.

"I think you missed one," Loki commented dryly as Thor struggled to control the ship and get it out of the palace.

"Shut up," Thor ground out, concentrating hard.

Just to continue to be a pest, Loki moved to the other side of Thor as he got the ship out of the room, leveling a few more columns and other things on his way out.

"Look, I'm clearly the better pilot, let me fly," Loki tried again.

"Is that right? Remind me again, Brother, which one of us can actually fly?" Thor asked, speeding the ship up as they finally cleared the building and took off into the city.

Only to take out a building.

"Not a word," Thor warned.

Loki lifted his chained together hands in defeat.

Thor continued on his way till a beeping alerted them they were being followed.

"Oh, look, now they're following us," Loki said, pointing at the screen that popped up showing there was a fleet of Asgardian ships on their tail. A new sound began and the ship rocked. "Now they are firing at us."

"Thank you for the commentary, Loki," Thor snapped, making the ship fly sideways to fit through a narrow passage way. He did not move quick enough, as he decapitated a statue before he managed to get the ship through the passage way.

"Congratulations. You've decapitated your grandfather."

"Loki," Thor growled.

Loki glanced down at the screen and noticed the Asgardian ships following them were no longer following as closely. Thor managed to get them over the mountains outside the city without causing the ship to crash.

"Good job. Now, can I fly? You do not know where the portal is," Loki pointed out, then frowned. "And why did you think it was such a great idea—"

Loki did not finish his question before Thor pushed him out an open door that appeared out of nowhere behind Loki. Loki sighed deeply as he went flying downwards.

"Got you!"

Loki landed on his feet, stumbling till he pitched forward. He tired to brace himself with his hands, but the cuffs hindered him from doing a very good job at preventing a face plant on deck. A thump told him Thor had followed him off the Elf ship to the boat piloted by Fandral.

"I see you've not lost your grace, Loki," Fandral jested as Loki stood up.

"Thor, you lied to me," Loki realized, eyeing his brother. "I'm impressed."

Thor gave Loki a grave look as he set Jane down at the bow of the ship. "I allowed you to believe what you wished. I never said we'd be taking the big ship to the Dark World."

"Trickery," Loki said in a sing-song voice, allowing a bit of the Mad One to surface just to freak Fandral out.

It didn't. Fandral laughed.

"Well, I believe you know where you're going, my prince?" Fandral asked, stepping away from the steering bar. He indicated Loki was to help himself.

"Yes," Loki said, taking the lever in his still cuffed together hands and taking control of the boat. He stared at Fandral for a few seconds before shaking is head.

Fandral was being…strange.

* * *

_And there's nothing wrong with me / This is how I'm supposed to be / In a land of make believe that don't believe in me_

_-Green Day, "Jesus of Suburbia"_

* * *

"It was his idea."

"It was his idea to jump ship and shout 'For Asgard?'" Jane asked, watching as Fandral landed below them on one of the boat chasing after them. She'd spent most of the trip to the boat ship thing passed out from lack of energy. Or something. She hadn't asked and no one had thought to clue her in due to the fact they were careening across the lake in a different ship than the one she'd passed out on while being shot at by another flying boat ship.

"Well, it worked," Thor pointed out, seeing Fandral has subdued all the guards on the other boat.

"That was suicide," Jane muttered as Fandral slowed the boat down, then saluted them before turning the boat back towards shore.

"Oh, he's so dashing," Loki grumbled, pulling at a lever on the boat deck.

"More like suicidal," Jane offered. "And why is the boat in the air again?"

"Because the portal is in the air," Loki replied. "Also, it made Fandral's part of the plan oh so dashing. And swash buckling."

"Pardon?" Thor asked, looking baffled.

"Oh, Brother dear, you need to watch more movies," Loki said, getting the lever fully back and the boat shot forward with a burst of speed. Jane turned around stared forward.

They were flying straight at a mountain. Jane tightened her grip on the railing and held her breath.

"Are you mad?" Thor demanded.

"Likely. And here we go," Loki said in a sing song voice.

They rocketed into the portal.

And suddenly, they were crashing downwards.

Jane screeched.

Thor bellowed.

Loki laughed.

Jane tumbled backward, rear landing hard on the floor of the boat. The boat rocked, jostled, and finally came to a halt rather suddenly before smoothly going forward. Jane picked herself up to find Thor hadn't managed to remain upright. Only Loki was still on his feet. And he was manically grinning.

"You are mad!" Thor shouted, getting to his feet.

"Yes, I believe I am," Loki agreed pleasantly, still creepily grinning.

"Oh, he's a bag of cats," Jane muttered.

Thor huffed.

"So, now what? We just wait for Malekith to show up?" Jane asked, crawling onto the bench in the bow.

"Yes."

Loki eyed his brother, yet did not contradict him. Jane could feel Loki did not agree with this plan. He flicked the gold cuff around his wrist a few time before he shrugged, seemingly not caring. He went back to steering the boat through the dead city the portal had dumped them.

"Well, fearless leader, lead us to our doom," Loki dryly mocked.

Thor sighed.

"You do not need to play a role any longer, Brother," Thor reminded Loki.

"Oh, dear Brother, I'm not. This is who I am," Loki insisted. "Now, do you have any idea where you'd like to stage your battle with Malekith? The city? The countryside? The lakeside? If there is a lake here."

Loki turned his attention from Thor, who clearly did not know, to Jane. Jane wracked her brain.

"That way."

Loki turned in the direction Jane pointed. "Ah, the mountains to the south of the city. Never ventured over there. I came, I saw, I left quickly. The place reeks of extinction."

Loki was right. The place smelled of death.

Loki pressed his lips together and went back to guiding the boat through the dead city, heading towards the looming mountain range to their left. Thor sighed, rubbing his face.

"Is this how he usually is?" Jane asked. "He's not lying, but I can't figure out if he's…"

"Yes and no," Thor said. "He's always been…sarcastic. He has a very odd sense of humor, one most Asgardians do not understand. Tony Stark shares a similar sense of humor, only more crude."

"Yeah, but…he's kind of…"

"Jane, he never disowned Mother," Thor said quietly, bending his head closer to her so maybe Loki couldn't overhear. "He told Father and myself we were not his family, but he never told that to Mother. Even after the lie of his origins, he could not feel any rage, hatred, or anything bad towards her. He loved her more than anyone else and she…"

Jane put her hand on Thor's arm and nodded, understanding.

"Okay. I get it. Sarcasm is his security blanket."

Thor looked baffled.

"His way of coping at the moment."

"Correct."

* * *

_Stuck in this hole, I'm on my way / Yeah, when you begun to think like a gun, the days of the year have already gone_

_-John Cale, "Gun"_

* * *

Loki ignored the his two companions as they spoke about him. Instead he steered the boat forward, taping into his magic to see if he could feel any similar dark energy to the energy put off by Jane. It was liberating to have his magic back (even in its limited state), yet he could feel the barrier enacted Odin. It fought against the cuff at every turn.

The headache he was suffering went up a notch.

Huffing in frustration, Loki turned ninety degrees and headed towards the slight pull he felt. Jane had pointed him in the right direction, but didn't give him a precise location to land the boat. That was left up to Loki. After he reached the top of a cliff that overlooked a valley of dust where the scent of death was as strong as the dark energy, he landed the boat.

Or made an attempt.

Neither Odinson very good at flying. Or landing, rather. Thor often crash landed whilst flying with his hammer. There'd be many Thor shaped holes in the walls of the place when Thor was learning to wield Mjolnir.

"This way," Loki called out after they'd recovered from his landing.

Loki got to his feet and headed for the edge of the cliff, with Jane and Thor following closely behind.

"Wow," Jane breathed, staring at the desolate landscape. "So glad we came. This will be a great vacation destination."

"Oh, definitely. Weather's lovely," Loki agreed, glancing up at the yellow sky littered with smog grey clouds. "Great place to get a tan."

There was no sun.

Thor appeared to be lost as Jane let out a belt of a laugh.

"This looks somewhat familiar," Jane muttered as she got control of her laughter. "Why does this look familiar?"

"That is the area the final battle was fought and Bor hid the Aether," Loki offered. "At least I believe that is what I am seeing. You likely came through somewhere over there when you traveled from Mid—Earth."

"Are you sure, Brother?" Thor inquired, gripping his hammer tightly.

"No, but this is the location Jane directed us and the familiar energy is present," Loki said, allowing some more magic to escape his fingers and feeling there were multiple portals and almost portals forming all over the valley.

"Why are you smiling?" Jane asked.

"I've missed my magic," Loki replied, holding up the cuffed wrist. "While I do not have full access, it is better than naught."

Jane looked troubled. She opened her mouth, but closed it quickly.

Loki stopped pressing his face into a grin and allowed himself to grimace. Truth was, he did miss his magic, but the headache was getting worst and he wanted Malekith to show up ASAP so he could be done with the cuff.

"Let us go. No doubt, Malekith will be on his way," Thor said, jumping down the cliff face and sliding down. "Are you ready, Loki?"

"After you," Loki said, indicating to Jane to go first. Jane frowned deeply in his direction, but jumped.

She was less graceful than Thor.

Loki followed suit, landing on his feet while Thor helped Jane to hers.

"He comes," Loki said, tensing up as he felt a magical being getting closer.

Thor put Jane behind him.

Malekith's ship appeared out of thin air and landed with a thud in the valley before them. Loki watched as a door opened at the bottom and out walked the Dark Elf and his Kursed helper, followed by a few minions. Malekith stalked towards them, stopping midway between the ship and the spot where Loki, Thor and Jane stood. He was soon flanked by his minions, who all wore masks. Malekith, though, wore no mask.

Loki struggled to keep his rage in check at the sight of the Dark Elf who was the downfall of his mother.

"It is time," Thor said, glancing at Loki out of the corner of his eye. "Remember what I said about if you betray me."

Loki nodded, even though Thor had never mentioned what he'd do if Loki betrayed him— as Thor did not believe Loki would. While the rest of Asgard thought Loki was a lost cause, Thor knew better.

Jane looked massively confused.

Loki raised his hands and Thor undid the cuffs, meeting his eyes. There was a question in those blue eyes that Loki hadn't expected to see. Loki rolled his eyes.

"Oops, I don't care what you'd do," Loki announced and promptly whacked Thor upside the head with the knife he'd found hidden in the folds of his jacket. (Placed there by Thor himself.)

Thor, not expecting Loki to whack him in the head, fell sideways. Jane screeched and tried to go to Thor's aid, but Loki grabbed her and held her hostage. Knowing Thor wouldn't be down for the count by a simple blow to the head, Loki conjured a few knives and launched them at Thor as he attempted to stand. Several knives cut off Thor's hand as he reached for his hammer. Jane screeched, howled, and struggled against Loki.

"Loki!" Thor bellowed, outrage pouring out of his tone as he clutched his stump of an arm.

Loki tried not to be impressed.

Malekith watched the entire exchange with a blank expression on his face. He began to walk forward. He came to a stop about five feet from where Loki and Jane were standing (struggling) and put his hands behind his back, a blasé expression on his half charred face.

Well, at least someone had gotten in a injury.

"And who might you be? I do not remember seeing you when I invaded Asgard, magic wielder," he calmly said, his dead looking eyes taking in Loki from head to toe.

Loki suppressed a shudder.

"I am Loki of Jotunhiem," Loki replied, voice steady and flippant.

Malekith's head cocked to the side as he said, "Is that so?"

"If you say I'm too short for a Frost Giant, I'll not let you have your prize," Loki taunted, holding Jane out in front of him like a prize.

* * *

_Cause this is a battle and it's your final, last call / It was a trail, you made a mistake, we know / But why aren't you sorry?_

_-Colbie Caillat, "Battle"_

* * *

Jane was outraged, scared, and had no clue what was going on in Loki's head. It did not surprise her in the least Loki had stabbed them in the back, but there was something itching in her mind.

The Aether had also not blasted Loki off of her, so she knew there was something more than she understood going on at the moment.

Loki loved his mother and the being standing before them had killed his mother. His mother's death had shaken Loki to the core— if his utter detachment when he had first appeared in Asgard was any indicator. The spark of mischief had gone out in his odd green eyes and while he was sarcastic and seemingly filled with humor during their escape, there was definitely something missing from the Loki Jane had on her hands now than the one she'd met over the summer in a run-down cottage in the English countryside.

"I've brought you the Aether."

Jane jerked forward as Loki offered her to the Dark Elf with bottomless eyes and deathly white and black skin. Jane hoped it was Frigga who'd blackened half his face.

Malekith's eyes flicked from Loki to Jane and back again.

"Why?"

"I wish to see what you desire. Darkness," Loki stated. "My world is dark, my life cold and lacking in light. Why else should others live in the light of day when I am forced to live in darkness thanks to Asgard?"

Jane felt a strange hum. Loki's words were a mix of lies and truth. Jane jerked, trying to get Loki's hand off her arm, but his iron clad grip didn't budge an inch.

"You came here with the prince of Asgard."

"I was taken prisoner. Their dungeons are filled. Your servant failed to free me whilst he was busy breaking out and wreaking havok."

Truth. But, Loki hadn't been there when the Dark Elves had attacked. Oh, there was likely an illusion of Loki in his prison cell so no one knew he was actually out and about on Midgard.

"And you came to be here?"

"I know how to use the secret walkways of Yggdrasil," Loki said as if it explained everything. "They do not believe in magic, those Asgardian brutes. Weakness."

That was truth. Jane shivered.

"And yet, their king wields it so flippantly," Malekith commented rather absently. "I will reward you greatly for your service, Loki of Jotunheim."

Lie.

Loki bowed his head. "All I wish for is to be able to watch as you burn Asgard to the ground."

"So be it," Malekith said.

Loki shoved Jane hard enough he caused her to topple to her hands and knees on the dusty ground. Before she could even think about getting up on her own, a cold hand with long nails gripped her front and lifted her clear off her ground.

"Do you have a good view, Asgard?" Malekith asked, turning his head in the direction where Thor was located.

Thor let out a howl of outrage as he tried to move, but the Dark Elf guards kicked him in the side.

Jane turned her attention to Malekith, seeing nothing in his eyes except lust. The Aether living inside her stirred, sensing the power of the being before her and the connection he likely had set up with the substance all those thousands of years ago.

"Come back to me," the Dark Elf breathed, throwing Jane away from him.

She didn't fall to the ground, instead floating in the air before Malekith. She was utterly petrified as she felt the Aether inside her rip itself from her being. It hurt, but that was the least of Jane's worries. Images flashed before her eyes: horrible images of what was to come now that Malekith had the Aether.

Behind her she felt something and heard Thor bellow, "NOW LOKI!"

* * *

_The clock that never stops ticking (change of luck) / I never seem to catch a break (change of luck) / Came into this world kicking and screaming / I leave with nothing at stake_

_-Ministry, "Change of Luck" _

* * *

Jane fell to the ground with a thud at the same time Thor shouted at Loki to end the illusion they'd set up before they'd left Asgard.

Yes, Loki had been shocked when Thor had suggested this as part of his plan to trick Malekith into ridding Jane of the Aether.

It was, however, the first bit of magic he'd performed since he'd put the cuff on that hadn't drained him nor caused his head to thump in pain. Clearly, this was the trickery his mother had mentioned and desired.

Loki raised his hands and ended the illusion on Thor, revealing his full armor and the fact he had both hands. Mjlinor flew into Thor's hand and he surged upwards and towards the now released Aether.

Loki did not believe the substance could be destroyed by whacking it with lighting and a magical hammer.

It needed to be contained.

But, Loki would bring that up after Malekith was despatched.

Thor roared and launched himself across the empty expanse between himself and the Aether, hammer raised. Loki, meanwhile, realized Jane was in the middle of where Thor was planning to hammer the blood red substance into submission. Moving swiftly while Malekith was distracted by Thor's roaring, Loki rocketed himself towards Jane, scooping her up into his arms, and protecting her with his own body as Thor's hammer made contact with the Aether. Loki rolled them away from the outbreak of fighting, shouting, and exploding dirt and Aether. Jane came to with a gasp.

"Are you alright?"

"What…?"

"The Aether is out of you now," Loki replied, turning to find the Aether wasn't destroyed. It was in fact in a million little bulbs of blood red blots suspended in midair.

"He's going absorb it soon," Jane mumbled.

"Correct," Loki agreed. "Stay down. I must aid Thor."

Now that the Aether was out of Jane, Loki did not believe any of the Dark Elves would pay her any heed. All their attention was upon Thor and killing him.

"Come!" Malekith bellowed, holding out his hand for the Aether.

Loki charged without thinking.

* * *

_But we all take a unique fall in the final scene / To a violin strong, or a crashing train in the pounding rain / And the thunder rolls in and the vertigo comes and goes_

_-KT Tunstall, "Carried" _

* * *

Jane's head was cloudy, muddy, and ached. There was a battle before her eyes. Loki launched himself into battle with Malekith, but not soon enough. The Aether entered Malekith before Loki had even reached the Dark Elf. Granted, this had not deterred Loki in the least. He still tried to stab Malekith with a knife. (How many did he have hidden on his person?)

Jane glanced at Thor, who was battling with the guards. The huge hulking Elf thing Jane was pretty sure Loki had called Kursed was heading towards Loki.

Seeing Thor had two hands, she made a hypothesis Loki had used magic to make it look like he was betraying Thor and chopping off his hand. (Also, Thor was wearing different armor suddenly. Had to be that mystical magic mumbo jumbo.)

Jane felt helpless and hated it. She wasn't helpless. She was a strong woman, just not a fighter. This was not her field of expertise and she was way out of her depth. However, instead of lying on a lump on the ground, she scurried off towards the pile of rumble Thor had created when he'd hit the ground with his hammer in his attempt to destroy the Aether. She reached it as she heard Thor bellow and go flying into another rock face, smashing it to bits. Gripping a rock hard, she threw it with all her might at the head of one of the guards.

Shockingly, it hit its mark.

Granted it didn't knock him out or injury the Dark Elf Guard in any sense, but it did distract him from pounding on Thor for a moment so the blond god could get to his feet. Jane quickly grabbed up a few more rocks and threw them in the general direction of the guard till Thor was able to whack the Elf Guard off his feet and into the side of a rather large rock, which the EG shattered into a million pieces.

Jane glanced over towards Loki to find him trading blows with the Aether amped Malekith. Malekith whacked Loki upside the head, sending the gangly man sideways, where he landed in a heap of leather and armor. Malekith turned and walked off towards his ship. Thor quickly dispatched the two EGs and began to run while screaming at Malekith. Loki struggled to his feet as the Dark Elf strode into the ship and it began to take off.

"Noooooo!" Thor roared, throwing his hammer at the ship, but it vanished before the hammer reached it.

"Thor!" Jane yelled, as she noted the monster Kursed Elf guy was advancing on Thor.

Jane was gathering up more rocks to throw just in case when she heard someone who wasn't Thor roar in outrage. Looking up, she found a smug looking Loki standing behind Kursed Monster Elf and the thing sporting a spear through his middle. Said thing glanced at the spear, yanked it out and rounded on Loki.

"LOKI!" Thor bellowed as the monster thrust the spear through Loki's middle.

Loki stumbled backwards, raising his hands up to spear and yanking it out. Shimmering green light began to engulf Loki's middle, but not quick enough.

Jane saw it at the same time the Kursed Monster Elf saw it: the cuff Loki wore on his right wrist. He only had one on and from the way it gleamed in the non-light of the so called Dark World (which wasn't exactly dark, but it wasn't exactly light either), gave away the artifact was magical.

So, of course, the Kursed Monster Elf's next attack was against the cuff.

"NO!" Thor raged, flying up behind thing

He wasn't fast enough.

Before Thor rammed into the back of Kursed Monster Dark Elf, the cuff was severed from Loki's wrist. Jane was sure the only reason the God of Mischief kept his hand was due to his quick if slightly sluggish reflexes. The cuff let out a burst of green light, blasting Loki backwards and the clump that was KMDE and the God of Thunder towards Jane. She scrambled out of the protected area she'd taken shelter in behind the crumbled rocks and quickly made a beeline for the heap of green and black that was Loki.

He didn't get to his feet.

Ignoring the battle between KMDE and Thor, Jane fell to her knees at Loki's side. She didn't know much about wounds or being speared or magic, but she wasn't a total moron. It was easy to tell from Loki's ashen appearance, gasping breaths, and the fact he wasn't moving much he wasn't in the best shape.

"Loki, Loki, Loki," Jane chanted over and over. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god."

"Not your god," Loki choked out, collapsing further sideways somehow.

Jane managed to roll him onto his back. He kept a grip on his middle, no matter how many time she tried to remove the bloody hands.

"Loki, I've got to stop the bleeding!"

"W-w-w-with w-w-what?" Loki stuttered, teeth chattering. "I'm not long for this world."

Thor roared behind them.

"No. You're wrong," Jane insisted, then remembered. "Oh! I've got healing stones!"

"Y-y-y-ou w-w-what?"

"Healing stones!" Jane exclaimed, shoving her hands into the pockets of the dress she still wore. "I put them in there when I was in the healing rooms with Eir! She showed me how to use them!"

"I am s-s-s-ure she t-t-t-told you—"

"Stop trying to talk. Yes, she said they will not heal a major injury, but they'll slow it down," Jane said, trying to smash the stone in her hands.

She couldn't crumble it as she could before.

"Damn it," she cursed, thumping the stone on the ground next to Loki, which was steadily being soaked in blood.

"ARRRRRRRRRG!" Thor bellowed.

Jane snapped her head up to find Thor standing on the plain alone. KMDE was in a dead heap at Thor's feet. Thor whirled around and charged across the plain and fell to his knees at Loki's side. Not paying attention to Jane's protests, Thor gathered Loki into his arms and said, "You're a fool."

Loki attempted to chuckle, but it failed to work. Instead he gurgled and spit up some blood.

"A f-f-f-fool I a-a-am," Loki agreed.

"I will tell Father what you did here today," Thor promised.

"He's not DYING!" Jane shouted at the same Loki said, "I didn't do it for him."

Thor looked at Jane for the first time since Loki had been stabbed.

"He is mortal, Jane."

"So?! That means these might work better!" Jane shouted, waving the stones around and putting the information that Loki was mortal for some reason in the back of her mind for later. Like when he wasn't slowly bleeding to death on a dark planet where the sky was yellow and the clouds were always grey. "I just can't crush them."

Letting out a frustrated noise, Jane tried again to crumble the formerly easy to crush stone.

"S-s-she l-l-l-lost…" Loki tried to say, but Thor shhhed him.

"Give them to me, Jane."

Jane handed the stones to Thor who easily crushed the entire pile in his hand.

"Remove your hands, Brother."

Loki gave Thor an unfathomable look, opened his mouth, but gave up and allowed his hands to flop down to his sides. It was clear his remaining strength was quickly fading. Thor quickly allowed the dust to come in contact with the wound on Loki's stomach. Jane watched the bleeding slow, but the skin didn't knit back together.

Thor looked as if his world was crushed.

"The bleeding has slowed. Who knows what those stones are doing to his insides," Jane said, quickly beginning to tear the bottom of her dress. "All we need to do is bind up his middle and get him back to, uh, Earth."

"Asgard—"

"We can't get to Asgard without Loki. Also, remember the boat is totaled and the portal to Asgard we know of is in the sky," Jane quickly reminded Thor. "There has to be a portal to Earth somewhere on this planet. Bor kept the Aether here, so I came here."

Jane looked around as she handed the strips of her skirt to Thor.

"Are you sure the portal, if we ever find it, will still be operational?"

"It'll be even more stable now as we're getting closer to the main event," Jane theorized. She glanced down at Loki. He'd either passed out or was pretending. She couldn't tell, as he was still as death as Thor manhandled the strips of cloth around his middle. Once Thor was pleased with the binding, he put his arms under his smaller, thinner brother and hoisted him into a bridal carry. Loki's head flopped backwards, his long hair gone.

"Where'd his hair go?"

"He used magic to grow it out," Thor said sadly.

Jane nodded, remembering that Loki did in fact have shorter hair when she'd last seen him on Earth before Thor had taken her to Asgard.

"That cuff…what was it exactly?" Jane asked. Jane looked around, then picked a direction at random. Thor followed behind her.

"It allowed Loki to access his magic around Father's barrier," Thor explained to Jane. "Mother gave it to Loki. I do not know where she got it from, but if I understand correctly, if Loki preformed magic the cuff thought was wrong or evil, it'd consume all his magic. The same goes if the cuff is removed by force."

"So, how does that make him mortal?" Jane asked, indicating a cliff they ought to climb to get out of the dust storm that was beginning.

"He lost all his powers. It was the price of removing the cuff by force or performing unsanctioned magic," Thor said, climbing up the rocks easily even though he was bearing Loki. Jane scrambled to keep up with him. "Father was shocked Mother had given it to Loki when he appeared in Asgard with her body. It made Father angry and a little confused. He couldn't figure out why Loki would be a slave to the cuff. I admit, it is a little out of character."

"It makes perfect sense," Jane whispered, ignoring the pain in her hands as she cut them on the rocks as she climbed after Thor.

"Also, any magic he did perform came at a high cost," Thor replied. "It is amazing he was able to keep the illusion on me as long as he did. It was a very complicated illusion. I could tell it was costing him."

They had reached the mouth of a cave. Seeing the dust storm was getting worst, they ducked into the cave without debate. Jane walked in front of Thor, picking her way back till she suddenly tripped over some trash.

Trash?

Bending over, Jane picked up a discarded McDonalds paper bag. Looking further in front of her, she saw the cave's floor was littered with trash and various other items from Earth.

"Oh," Jane breathed, picking up bits and bobs till she snooped down and found the car keys Ian the Intern must have tossed through the portal in the stairwell.

It seemed like a lifetime ago Darcy had brought her to that abandoned warehouse to watch drunk physics.

"Eureka," Jane whispered, clutching the car keys.

A few more things fell out of the cave's ceiling and Jane's phone began to ring.

"What is that?" Thor asked, clutching Loki tightly to his chest.

"My phone."

Jane dug around in the pocket of her jacket and pulled her phone out. She didn't know the number, but answered it.

"Jane?" asked a male voice she didn't know.

"Yeah?"

"Oh, good. Are you back?"

"No?"

"No?"

"No. I'm on…the Dark Elf world. I think a portal is helping us talk. Keep talking."

"Uh…how's Loki? Is he with you?"

Jane froze, realizing who'd called her: Steve Rogers.

Crap.

"Door," whispered a horse voice from Thor's arms. "They…put…d-d-d-doors up."

"Loki, what do you mean?"

"He's…" Jane's mind worked quickly. "Oh! Thor, he means that SHIELD figured out a way to put up something to block passage! They knew about this portal, so it's likely one of the first ones they blocked."

"We stopped doing that, as we ran out of those…thingies," Steve helpuflly offered. "Is Loki with you? Can I talk to him?"

Jane ignored Steve's questions and dug in her jacket pocket again and produced her scanner. It beeped telling her the portal above their head was the same one she'd scanned back on Earth and wasn't stable enough to always transport someone. However, the phone signal allowed Jane to discover another portal in the cave that was stable enough for her and Thor to walk through.

"Jane," Loki whispered hoarsly.

"Jane?" barked Steve at the same time.

Jane turned her attention to Loki. He was unable to lift his head from where he was nestled on Thor's chest, but his eyes were aflame. In the extremely dim light available in the cave, the green was intense, so Jane took a few steps closer to Loki.

"Steve, shhh. Loki, what?"

"Aether. Sta-a-a-ark's Arc R-r-r-reactor," he whispered.

"What?" Jane asked, confused.

"Need one. D-d-d-doesn't have to w-w-w-work. Containment."

Jane frowned, trying to work out what Loki meant exactly.

"Aa-a-and throw s-s-s-something."

Loki made a weak movement towards the portal with his hand.

That Jane understood easily enough. "Oh! It'll bounce back if the portal is closed?"

A slight nod was her only answer before Loki gave up his quest to remain with the living world. Quickly Jane threw a rock through the area she knew the portal to be. It quaked and swirled for a moment before going silent once more.

"Jane?" asked the voice over the phone.

"What does that mean?" Thor asked. "And what did he mean about Stark's Arc Reactor?"

"I dunno about that last one, but the portal is safe. Let's go," Jane said, striding through the portal before Thor could say another word. "Steve, I need directions from the warehouse where Darcy discovered the…portals to the nearest hospital. Loki's hurt. Oh, and have someone call Stark and see if we can borrow an Arc Reactor. Doesn't have to work. Tell him it'll save the world."

* * *

_And if the world should fall apart, hold onto what you know / Take your chances, turn around and go._

_-Lifehouse, "Chapter One" _


	5. Still Revolutionary

**Disclaimer: I do now own any of the Marvel characters. Nor do I own _Thor: The Dark World_, screenplay by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely; story by Don Payne and Robert Rodat. If you know it, I do not own it.**

**For Loki's delusions/dreams/nightmares/hallucinations: **

**(All song lyrics are in italics)**

**"Broken Crown" was written by Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford, and Winston Marshall. (Lyrics used throughout all of Loki's dreams/delusions)**

**"No Light, No Light" was written by Florence Welch and Isabella Summers (used in more than one). **

**"Sorry's Not Good Enough" was written by Tom Fletcher, Dougie Poynter, Danny Jones, Jason Perry, Julian Emery, and Daniel P. Carter (center of the first one. **

**_Sherlock_ was created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss and written by Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat and Stephen Thompson. **

**"Demons" was written by Ben McKee, Dan Platzman, Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Alexander Grant, and Josh Mosser. (Last dream/delusion)**

* * *

**_Still Revolutionary_**

* * *

_A picket fence white 9-to-5 who's just alive / Beyond repair, there is nothing to say / Save some fading regrets_

_-Elbow, "Coming Second"_

* * *

"Okay, Thor, you're going to have to help me," Jane said, studying the directions sent to her phone (Steve had managed to hold it together after Jane told him Loki was in need of a hospital long enough to hand his phone to someone else who did as Jane requested). Thor cocked his head to the side, still clutching Loki with great care to his chest. "We're taking Loki to a hospital."

"We cannot take him to a mortal healing—"

"You said he was mortal," Jane replied, heading towards where Darcy and Intern had abandoned the car. Luckily, it was still there and hadn't been towed. "Lay him in the back seat."

Thor grunted, but did as Jane asked. He arranged Loki in the backseat and got in with his brother, cradling Loki's head in his lap. Jane handed Thor her phone and instructed him to read the directions as she drove.

"We're going to have to leave him there," Jane softly said she maneuvered the car through the industrial park towards the main road. "Malekith is heading to Earth to enact his plan to plunge the Nine Realms into darkness."

"Pardon?" Thor asked.

"The Aether showed me before it left," Jane explained as she reached the main road. She stomped it in order to get into the traffic. Driving in London wasn't exactly her ideal area to drive like a maniac (or at all), but she was better than Darcy. For some reason, driving on the wrong side of the road felt natural to Jane. "Earth is, well, in the middle, so it makes it the perfect spot to put his plan into action. He'll be able to access all Nine Realms from here once they line up."

"We call it Midgard for a reason, Jane. It is the center of the Nine Realms," Thor proclaimed. "We must figure out a way to stop him."

"I know," Jane said. "Well, uh, Earth is kind of a big place. Where would he go?"

The conversation ended there, as they reached the hospital. Jane leapt out of the car and ran through the ER entrance and looked around wildly. Several people openly stared at her, as she was a bewildering sight in her ripped up Asgardian dress, armor, and black jacket.

"I need help! I've got a man impaled by a spear coming in!" Jane shouted, feeling stupid.

No one reacted. Jane stomped her foot.

"He's dying!"

Thor burst in through the doors, taking great care not to jostle Loki in any way in his haste to enter. The whole waiting room froze at the sight of Thor (he was an impressive sight, granted).

"I need aid!" he bellowed.

And due to the fact he was Thor, everyone hopped to it. Jane was pushed out of the way as nurses and doctors all rushed to do Thor's bidding. Soon, Thor and Loki vanished behind doors Jane was not allowed to follow, so she sat down in the waiting room. She fiddled with her skirts.

"JANE!"

Jane jumped about ten feet in the air at the sound of a mysterious voice shouting her name. She turned to find a disheveled looking Jim Nicholls striding towards her. He looked utterly relieved to see her.

"Jim?"

"Good evening, Doctor Foster," Jim said, trying to recover his dignity. He looked as if he hadn't slept for days— hence his slip in using her first name. "Ms Lewis reported that Queen Frigga gave Mr Laufey-Odinson a bracelet that allowed him to perform magic— or at least that is what Ms Lewis assumed it did as after he donned it, as he put a shield up. I take from your willingness to bring him to hospital, he's mortal. As to how I guessed he's mortal…all magical artifacts come with a price."

Jim glanced over his shoulder as the Steve Rogers plowed into the waiting room. Steve looked like the typical significant other whose other half was in the hospital due to injury and he lacked all the information needed for him to remain clam. His hair was standing on end and he looked frantic, worried, scared, and oddly small.

"Agents Fitz and Simmons believe the center of this all is in Greenwich. Doctor Selvig, Ms Lewis, and Mr Boothby have gone to Greenwich College to gather Doctor Selvig's equipment. He has a theory he can block the energy or something that Convergence is to bring," Jim went on quickly, looking through the pockets of his suit for something. "I have placed a call to Ms Potts and requested an Arc Reactor."

"Who?"

"Mr Stark refused to take my call," Jim explained, still searching through his pockets. "I am afraid we won't be able to get an Arc Reactor. Is there another way—"

"Jane!" Steve shouted, finally spotting her in his frantic search for someone familiar. "Where's Thor? How is Loki? What's going on? What happened?"

"Pardon me," Jim said, turning around and striding towards the front desk. He mysteriously had a bunch of papers in his hands. Jane stared, wondering how he had gone from frazzled to posed by simply turning on his heels.

"Jane!"

Jane snapped back to attention to deal with Steve.

"Well, uh…Loki got stabbed," Jane explained. "Uh…he's not doing well. We, uh…well, uh…"

Jane really didn't want to tell Steve. The moment she told him what had exactly happened, Steve looked like a kicked puppy. Jane couldn't tell him Loki was going to die— and if he didn't, he'd likely be unable to walk or lead a normal life. She wasn't a medical doctor, but she knew that with the movement they'd done to him to get him here and being stabbed through the middle as he was if his spine hadn't been injured at the start, they'd likely done some damage in moving him around.

"Jane, please…I need—"

"Captain Rogers?"

Steve jerked away from Jane, as he'd stooped over to be on her level. Jim had reappeared, smoothing down his hair and straightening his tie. His tie straightened, but his hair remained a ball of frazzled curls.

"What?" Steve asked, looking as if he was about to slug Jim.

"I've made it possible for the doctors to give you all information regarding Mr Laufey-Odinson," Jim smoothy said, holding out the pile of papers he had taken to the front desk. Steve slowly took them. "You will remain here."

Steve nodded, shuffling through the papers. As he read them, his eyes went wide. "Is this legal?"

"You have all the rights I believe you deserve in order to assure Mr Laufey-Odinson's care," Jim stated.

"But…but…"

"I'm sure Mr Laufye-Odinson will not mind in the least."

"What happened in Asgard?" Steve asked, turning to look at Jane.

"I will brief you once I've gotten Jane and Thor on their way to base," Jim answered.

Jane wondered how Jim knew exactly what had happened on Asgard, as he'd not been there nor had she informed him. But, she did know she and Thor needed to be elsewhere in order to prevent the end of the universe.

Just as she thought this, Thor stepped out from behind the doors leading to the ER. He looked grim, staring at his blood stained hands.

"Thor," Steve shouted, running across the room.

"Captain," Thor greeted flatly. He clapped Steve on the shoulder before drawing him into a bone crushing hug. "My brother does not fair well. I fear I am not able to stay by his side. Will you remain?"

"Of course," Steve agreed, sounding oddly muffled by Thor's chest. Thor let him go. Steve failed to noticed he was now dirty and had a Thor shaped bloody hand print on his shoulder. "Where is Loki?"

"The mortal healers removed me from the room so they could work."

"They'll take care of him Captain Rogers," Jim soothed, eyes going to a tall, dark man in a ankle length leather trench coat. Jim frowned, but turned his attention to Steve, who was looking looking between Jim and Thor.

"Loki suffered massive internal wounds," Thor quietly said. "I am not—"

"They'll do their best," Jim interrupted, frowning deeper as the man in the leather trench coat, who was followed by two other men who were dressed in scrubs under wool coats, strode through the ER doors without anyone stopping him.

"You don't think…" Steve paled, gripping the papers in his hands harder and unable to finish.

"Thor, we need to leave. We've got to deal with Malekith," Jane said. Shaking her head. She grabbed Jim's sleeve and tugged hard to get his full attention. "I think I figured out why Loki wanted an Arc Reactor, too."

"Why?" Jim asked, pulling out his cell phone. He looked poised to act the moment Jane explained.

"He said something about containment. That's why Odin didn't want to remove the Aether from me: he's got nothing to contain it. It's a massive ball of energy. What on Earth do we have that holds massive amounts of energy?"

Silence.

"Stark's Arc Reactor technology! That's why, er, Insane Loki used one to open the portal when he invaded Malibu."

Silence once more. Jim looked massively confused.

"I have no clue how to make a containment unit…but Stark would. If he doesn't want to give us an Arc Reactor, then he can build a containment unit. I don't care. We just need something and he'd likely be able to do it."

"I will call Doctor Banner," Jim said, looking cheery. "I'll tell him what is going on. Pardon me."

Steve looked torn as he glanced between Jim, Thor, and the doors that would lead him to Loki. Jim paused, turning before he got too far to speak at a normal volume.

"Captain Rogers, I'm positive whatever Thor is going to face, he will conquer it. You will not be in the right mind, nor have you been since Mr Laufey-Odinson left. And stop looking ashamed," Jim scolded, putting his phone to his ear and giving Steve a scolding look before turning and walking out of the waiting room.

Steve didn't argue. If anything, he looked relieved.

"You will remain here, Captain, and wait for Loki," Thor said, or well, ordered. "Jane and I will meet up with our friends at SHEILD and figure out a way to prevent Malekith from bringing darkness to the Nine Realms."

Thor did not look as if he wished to leave the hospital, but he steeled himself. His expression was grim, but determined. He clapped Steve on the shoulder once more before turning and striding back out through the doors they'd come in. Jane scurried after him. As she got back into the car with Thor, who was now sitting in the passenger side seat up front with Jane, her phone beeped. Pulling it out before she started the car, she read the text message.

"Here. Jim sent directions to where ever SHILED is hanging out right now."

Thor nodded.

"He's going to be fine, Thor," Jane assured softly as she started the car. "The healing stones stopped the bleeding and the doctors will be able to stitch him back together. Steve will be there when he wakes up."

Thor nodded, but did not look as if he believed Jane at all. "I've lost my mother. I cannot loose my brother as well."

"I know. I know," Jane said, feeling helpless. "I…"

"I do not understand your healing, but…as a mortal, it is likely the best for Loki at the time being." Thor sat up taller (almost hitting his head on the ceiling of the car). "We best stop Malekith so my brother and his partner have a world to grow old within."

Jane decided not to take note of the pained expression on Thor's face as he realized Loki was going to grow old and die long before him.

* * *

_And I said alright, X is always an unknown / I tried to hold on too tight, but I got buried with the bone_

_-Counting Crows, "Hospital"_

* * *

"Someone did something to clot internal bleeding, but it's not enough."

"Pulse weak. Sir, you're going to have to step outside. You're not allowed back here."

"Out."

"Sir, you're going to have to leave."

Long pause.

Where was he?

"I am not leaving. You are," said a familiar, deep voice.

"Sir—"

"I've brought my own doctors," the familiar voice announced. "What do you say over here? Pop off? Pip pip?"

"Sir, this patient is in need of—"

"Medical care you cannot hope to give him. Now, out."

"Sir, I will call security!"

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Loki felt something prick his skin and fire welled up in his veins, causing him to want to scream, pass out, and die all at once.

* * *

_All my life I've been waiting / For you to bring a fairy tale my way / Been living in a fantasy without meaning_

_-Anastacia, "Left Outside Alone" _

* * *

Thor and Jane arrived at the airfield to find a huge plane sitting on the runway. The back of the plane was open and Natasha Romanov was standing there, clearly waiting for them. Jane parked the car near the ramp.

"Doctor Foster," the redhead greeted.

"Er, Agent Romanov," Jane said.

"Lady Natasha!" Thor bellowed, attempting to be his usual cheery self. It fell very flat.

"Thor," Natasha replied, nodding her head. She eyed Thor for a moment. "They're this way. Selvig might have an idea, but so far he doesn't make much sense to anyone other than Fitz. Even Simmons is having trouble understanding what he's talking about."

Jane nodded, hurrying after Romanov as she strode into the plane. Jane glanced at the two vehicles parked in the cargo hold (a little red convertible and a larger, black, SHEILD standard issue SUV) before her eyes fell upon the state of the art lab where Fitz, Simmons, Darcy, Intern, and Eric were gathered.

Eric wasn't wearing any pants.

"JANE!" Eric exclaimed as Jane and Thor entered the lab. "You came back!"

"Of course I did," Jane assured, glancing at him. He looked as if he hadn't slept in months. "Where are your pants?"

Eric made a dismissive noise and went back to the white board he was writing on.

"He said he thinks better without pants," Intern explained.

Simmons blushed while Fitz tried hard not to laugh.

"Eric, what's going on?" Jane asked, eyeing the white board. Some of it made sense, but most of it was gibberish. She glanced at the table where there were what appeared to be homemade items of some sort. She looked back at Eric who had stopped writing.

"I figured it out!" Eric exclaimed, tapping the white board vigorously with the pen on what appeared to be a drawing of Stark's Arc Reactor in a cube.

"Figured what out?"

"This!"

Eric drew a huge circle around, well, everything he'd written on the white board.

"He keeps saying that," Simmons whispered.

Jane began to pick up the items on the table and ignored Eric, who was babbling about things she was sure he wasn't supposed to know, as he seemed to suddenly know all the names of the Nine Realms— something Jane didn't even know.

So, instead of making sense of what Eric was saying, she studied the homemade pole things.

"Oh," Jane breathed, holding up one of the poles with a homemade something on one end. Things slotted into place in her head suddenly as she looked between the items on the table and the white board. "And…with what you've figure about the Convergence…Eric, what do these things do?"

"Detect portals."

"Could they make them?"

"Make them?" Eric asked, looking confused.

"Yeah. Make portals. Use theses to create a field to…if the calculations are right…" Jane trailed off as she picked up a tablet from the table that someone had made calculations on. "Greenwich…and the planets are moving at a rate of…and if we…"

Jane was soon emerged herself in a world of science. It was calming and took her mind off the doom that was coming their way. She wasn't reminded of armegeddon till hours later when she heard Romanov flatly report, "A large, alien space ship just crash landed in Greenwich and Stark actually sent us an out of date Arc Reactor and a crystal for some reason."

"Huh?" Jane asked, looking up. The lab was empty save for Eric, Jane, and the two SHILED science agents. Well, and Romanov. Fitz hopped over to Romanov and relieved her of the box that Jane assumed held the Arc Reactor. Fitz flipped it open and his eyes went wide.

"God, I've always wanted to get my hands on one of theses things," he sighed. "What's the crystal for?"

"Give me that," Jane ordered, for some reason recognizing it.

"OH!" Eric shouted and hid under the table.

No one paid him any heed.

"That's not from Earth," Simmons breathed next to Jane. "Is it…"

"Why did Stark send this?" Jane asked, holding up the odd looking rock to the light. Inside the crystal, the light danced and moved unnaturally.

Romanov gave Jane a blank look.

"Is it magic?" Fitz asked.

"It's got…readings," Simmons grudgingly admitted.

Fitz looked into the box and hummed. He pulled something else out of the box and hit himself in the head.

"Duh," he said, grabbing the rock from Jane. "If the Aether is something magical, it has to be contained with something magical. This!"

"What is it?" Simmons demanded.

"No clue. Mr Stark claims Doctor Banner thought we'd need it— per this note. I think we do. Now…we just have to…"

Fitz trailed off as he began to study the out of date Arc Reactor and the crystal.

Romanov touched her ear for a moment, looking off to the side before looking back at the scientists in front of her. "Thor has commenced his battle with the enemy and Loki is out of surgery. It is suggested we move into position to enact our plan to distract the enemy."

"Loki?" Eric asked, poking his head out from under the table. His eyes suddenly darted around. "Loki's here?"

"Doctor, he is near death. I doubt he will come for you."

Eric nodded, muttering under his breath for a moment before he pulled himself out from under the table. "I think I need pants if we're leaving."

"It works! Or I think it will work."

Everyone turned to stare at Ftiz, who was holding a brightly glowing Arc Reactor in his hands. Simmons frowned.

"What did you do?" she demanded.

"Uh, shoved the crystal in center. Right where the palladium is supposed to go," Fitz admitted, looking a bit sheepish.

"Good," Romanov flatly said. "Doctor Foster, are the…." She made a gesture to the table where the pole things Eric used to detect portals were sitting.

"Portal Field Makers?" Jane suggested.

"Are they ready?"

"Yeah. I think they are," Jane said, picking one up. "We just need to get to the college and set up all the beacons. Where's, uh…Darcy and Ian?"

"I believe they are in route to the college," Romanov said. "They will meet us there along with Captain Nicholls."

* * *

_You saw me lost and treading water / I looked pathetic, I looked as helpless as a stinger without a bee / But underneath my presentation (yeah) / I knew the walls were coming down and the stones that fell were aiming away from me_

_-Incubus, "Circles"_

* * *

Loki was standing in Odin's chambers. Pressing his lips together and knitting his eyebrows downward, he gazed around slowly, wondering what he was doing here. The All-Father in the mists of Odin Sleep, the golden mist swirling around the old man's body. Loki shifted on his feet and made to move out of the room, but something held him in place. He tried to move his feet, but found he was unable to budge an inch. He glared down at his unmoving feet and gripped the spear he was holding.

"_I can't…I can't stop loving you_," Loki choked out, looking back up at the sleeping old man.

"_You're a dreamer and dreaming's what you do_," his mother sighed, suddenly appearing at Odin's side and holding the sleeping man's hand.

Loki tightened his grasp on the spear he was holding. He could hear the metal buckling where he was gripping it.

"_I won't stop believing this is the end_," Loki proclaimed.

"_There must be another way_," his mother pleaded. "_I couldn't handle the thought of you going away._"

Loki frowned, twirling the spear in his right hand. Anger and rage boiled to the surface. His gaze went between Odin and Frigga and he said, "_Sorry's not good enough_."

Frigga sighed. "_Why? Are we breaking up?_"

Loki really wanted to stomp his foot, but refrained. Instead he shifted the spear, which happened to be Gungnir, to his other hand.

Why did he have Odin's King Spear? Was Loki king? What was he doing being king?

"_I didn't treat you rough, so please don't go changing_," Frigga begged.

Loki jolted, as the sentence was…much too unrefined for his mother of all people to construct.

"_What was I thinking of?_" Loki inquired, staring at the spear, then at the door. If this was the instance he thought, he ought to be going to let Laufey and his chosen few into Asgard in order to carry out his plan to prove he was firmly on Asgard's side.

"_You said you're out of love_," Frigga said, standing and moving towards Loki.

"_I'm not calling this off because sorry's not good enoug_h," Loki insisted, turning to leave.

He got a few steps before Frigga called out, "_Don't stop all those things you do. I'm a believer and that's what gets you through._"

Loki felt like he was taking part in some sort of odd dance as he twirled around to face his adoptive mother. While she had lied to him about his origins, he'd never doubted she loved him with her whole heart.

It could have been a character flaw— she was the All-Mother. She might just love anything plopped in her lap and told to love.

"_I can't fight this feeling that this is the end,_" Loki proclaimed. "_We're in the thick of it._"

He glanced at the door, getting the distinct feeling something was wrong. He wasn't mad enough, wasn't desperate enough.

Shouldn't he be leading the Frost Giants into the palace? Standing off to the side to make his grand entrance at the last moment before Laufey went in for the kill? Why was he standing around having this bizarre conversation with Frigga?

Why did he keep thinking of her as Frigga and not Mother? She was his mother.

"_Where will this ever end_?" Frigga inquired.

"_Sorry's not good enough_," Loki snapped, slamming the spear into the ground as the door flew open.

Expecting it to be Laufey, Loki was massively confused to find Thor in all his glory standing in the doorway, hammer at his side and a look of befuddlement on his face.

"_Why are we breaking up?_" Thor demanded. "_Cause I didn't treat you rough, so please don't go changing._"

Loki bristled. "_What was I thinking of?_"

He made to exit the room, but Thor blocked his path.

"Y_ou said you're out of love, baby don't call this of_f," Thor pleaded, shaking Loki by the shoulders.

"_Sorry's not good enough!_" Loki roared, tossing Thor to the side.

Thor rammed into the wall, cracking it a little. He straightened quickly and said, "_You said you'd never leave me. Be there to hold. To please me._"

Loki sneered. "_Sorry's not good enough!_"

He really wanted to shout that they had all lied to him, his whole life was lies and deceit and none of them had ever loved the monster everyone told their children about before bed. Nothing of the sort came out. Instead he stood there, seething.

"_For you_," Frigga said softly, sweeping back towards Odin's bed. "_Everybody makes mistakes and that's just what we do._"

"_Sorry is not good enough!_" Loki roared, suddenly standing at the end of the Rainbow Bridge. He whirled around a few times before he was thrown backwards by a mighty force. He skidded to a halt and let his head thunk down against the bridge.

"_Sorry's not good enough for you_," Thor roared.

"_Don't go changing_," Frigga pleaded.

Loki sat up, looking around for Frigga, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"_Why are we breaking up?_" Thor demanded, turning around and slamming his hammer into the Rainbow Bridge.

Loki realized the Bifrost was on and pointed towards Jotunheim.

How the hell had that happened? What the hell was going on?

"_Sorry's not good enough!_" Loki bellowed, even though he wanted to shout at Thor to stop. Thor couldn't break the bridge. He just couldn't. Loki would fall if Thor broke the bridge.

Loki didn't want to fall.

"_Don't go changing_," Frigga whispered.

"_Why are we breaking up?_" Thor repeated, slamming his hammer once more into the bridge.

Loki struggled to his feet, grabbing his spear up and making a running leap at Thor.

"_What was I thinking of?_" he howled as Thor finally managed to break the bridge.

They both flew upwards.

"_Don't go changing_," Frigga cried, a note of hysteria in her tone.

"_Why are we breaking up?_" Thor bellowed.

"_Sorry's not good enough!_" Loki replied, grabbing onto the spear with both hands. He dangled over the end of the Rainbow Bridge, the spear the only thing preventing him from falling into the Void. Thor's ankle was in Odin's grasp.

Loki was not going to fall this time. No, he'd hold on no matter what.

"_I didn't treat you rough, so please don't go changing_," Thor pleaded, giving Loki a pathetic look.

Loki kept his eyes on Odin. He felt the tears burn in his eyes.

"_You said you're out of love, but don't call this off because sorry's not good enough_," Odin stated sadly, giving Loki a mournful look.

Loki said the only thing he seemingly was able to say, "_Sorry's not good enough_."

Odin nodded his head a little, reaching behind him and producing a crown. From one glance, Loki could tell it was broken, tarnished, and ugly. Odin threw it into the void and said, "_Sorry's not good enough._"

Loki felt himself break into a million pieces and even though he vowed he wasn't, he let go.

* * *

_So you wanna play with magic / Boy, you should know what you're falling for / Baby, do you dare to do this? _

_-Katy Perry, "Dark Horse"_

* * *

"Darcy!"

"JANE! You're alive!"

"Of course I'm alive. You saw me last night."

"I figured you were in the quad when the ship decided to turn up the grass," Darcy admitted.

"Well, I wasn't. Here. This needs to go out in the quad."

"Let me guess. Right near where the super tall gardner recently cultivated the grass?"

"Well, yeah. Get moving! Fitz and Simmons are already putting up theirs. We need to create a field so we can distract Malekith. We just need to distract him for seven minutes so we're going to—"

"Don't explain it to me. Just give me the thingy!"

Jane forked over the device Eric had built to detect the portals that she'd rewired to create portals. Darcy took it, turned on her heels and darted off, quickly followed by Ian the Intern (where had he come from?).

"We still have two detectors," Eric pointed out pointlessly. "We'll never get to both places in time."

"Let's get moving. We've got to get to the top of that tower. You still with us?" Jane asked, glancing over her shoulder at Romanov, who was eyeing the looming Elf ship from where it was stationed. She turned her cold gaze to Jane and nodded. "Let's go. Hopefully we'll run into Jim on the way and foist the other detector on him."

Jane turned, hurrying off towards the tower. She'd already asked Romanov to take the extra one and install it, but Romanov and shook her head, glancing at Eric. Clearly, her orders were to remain with Eric.

So Jane hoped they'd run into Jim, though she wasn't too hopeful. (He did seem to turn up when she least expected it, so maybe he'd randomly appear?)

"I'm still not clear on why you think being able to use the portals to move the various foot soldiers is the best way to distract him," Romanov said as they hurried through the school grounds.

"Thor's his major distraction," Jane shouted over her shoulder. "Moving the other stuff is just extra. If we use the Convergence against him and his forces… it'll work. Trust me."

Romanov grunted as she moved some students out of the way who were gaping at the Elf Ship of Doom.

* * *

_The angry boy, a bit too insane / Icing over a secret pain / You're the first to fight, you're way too loud / You're the flash of light on a burial shroud_

_-Third Eye Blind, "Jumper"_

* * *

Loki stared at Bruce. The scientist did not look pleased in the least. In fact, he looked quite disappointed. Loki, for the life of him, couldn't figure out why.

"I've disappointed you," Loki pointlessly stated.

"Good. Good deduction," Bruce said, shortness in his tone evident. He folded his arms across his chest and gave Loki a bittersweet smile.

Loki cocked his head to the side, finding a dark curl suddenly in his vision.

Loki did not have curly hair.

What the hell was going on? Loki had the sense he ought to be in the Void, but couldn't think of why he would be there.

"You shouldn't make people out to be heroes, Bruce," Loki said, feeling as if that was what he ought to say.

"Falling is idiotic," Bruce snapped, his arms still tightly crossed. "You keep falling."

"I'm owed a fall," Loki stated, bouncing a blue ball against the table.

Bruce's arms came loose and he threw them up in the air. "What is that supposed to mean? You aren't owed a fall! You're more than this! You're letting him win!"

"Alone is what I have," Loki said, feeling as if he was following a script and doing it badly. He caught the little ball and gazed around the lab, wondering how and why he and Bruce were in this lab. It wasn't in Stark Tower. Or SHEILD. It looked…familiar, yet Loki was unable to place where the hell he was currently.

"You are not alone! You've got friends who all care about you, Loki!" Bruce shouted.

Loki cast his gaze back to Bruce and suddenly odd bits of information popped out at him. He read the little details.

Tired. Kept awake by someone playing a violin at odd hours. Shaved more than twenty-four hours ago. Day old shirt. Hadn't been home to change. Tense because of something Loki had done. Military haircut. (Wait, didn't Bruce have that messy, curly mop on his head because he couldn't be bothered to get a haircut?) Military posture. (Didn't Bruce tend to slouch in order to not be noticed by anyone?)

What was going on?

Loki looked down and found himself wearing a rather nice suit— a little tightly cut for Loki's taste. He wore no necktie, but rather had a few buttons undone at the collar. He wasn't sure he liked the look. Loki looked over at Bruce and found the man wearing too many layers. Bruce never wore layers in case the Hulk made an appearance.

Bruce was also mad enough at Loki he should be turning a little green.

"You know what? Never mind!" Bruce shouted, balling his fists together. "If you want to be alone, then fine. Just don't fall. It's not worth the broken crown. _Don't cosign yourself to darkness_, you machine."

Bruce turned on his heel and went out the swinging door. It swung a few times and Loki watched it while feeling greatly baffled. He turned froward on the stool he was seated upon and blankly stared into space till he heard a beep come from his pocket. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a phone.

**I'm here. Come up and play. -LoA**

Who the hell was that?

Loki had no time to ponder it, as he was suddenly opening a door to a rooftop, now wearing a billowing black greatcoat and scarf. He glanced around and instead of seeing the New York skyline he'd expected he was London.

What was he doing in London?

And where'd he get this coat?

"Ah, there you are," came his own voice.

Loki took a few steps forward and came to a halt. Thor and some dark mass were having a massive battle throughout the city of London.

What was going on?

"I read the news today."

Loki snapped his eyes to the other person on the roof: himself.

This version of himself was dressed in a similar fashion to how Loki was dressed, only he was wearing a less dramatic coat and sunglasses. He also lacked a scarf and wore a tie. There was also a known madness to the man who was seated on the ledge.

"Fairy tales," the Mad One said in a sing-song voice as he sat on the ledge of the building they were standing upon. "Who'd thought Thor was real?"

He threw a newspaper down on the rooftop at Loki's feet. Loki looked down and read the headline: Thunder God Flights Magical Elf.

"Elf?" Loki asked, looking up and passed the other version of himself to see Thor and Malekith making mince meat of London with their fight. Loki watched as the pair flew threw the air, vanishing randomly to reappear somewhere else. One time they appeared at the top of a building shaped a bit like a pickle that was completely made out of glass. The pair scrambled for purchase as they slid down, breaking windows left and right in their slide.

"It's a great fight scene," the Mad One dreamily sighed. "It'll go on for ages and won't end till you fall."

"I'm not falling," Loki stated. He turned sharply to face the Mad One. "I will end you."

Loki stepped forward with intent but stopped short when he the Mad One maniacally laughed.

"End me? I am you. You're on the side of the angels, Lokes," the Mad One said, removing his sunglasses and stepping into Loki's personal space. "You're boring."

There was no emotion in his blue, Tesseract possessed eyes. They were flat, dull, insane.

"I might be on the side of the angles, but don't think for one minute I'm one of them," Loki growled, grabbing the Mad One by the lapels of his overcoat. He shoved his hand into the chest of the Mad One, who let out an insane giggle. Loki looked confused as he searched the chest cavity for the other's heart, just as he had in the ruins of Stark's house.

There was nothing in there.

"Where's your heart?"

"Don't have one," the Mad One sniggered, then sung out, "No heart, no heart in my cold dead chest. So, there'll be _no light, no light in his bright blue eyes._"

Loki quickly withdrew his hand from the Mad One's chest and stumbled backwards. The Mad One cocked his head to the side and let loose another crazed giggle as he straighten out his shirt and tie.

"Ah, you got that one! Smart you are. You fail to fall, he dies."

"No," Loki breathed.

"Yeah. We gotta see you die," the Mad One went on merrily. "Fall off this roof to your mortal death, Loki Laufey-Odinson."

The Mad One closed the space between them, shoving his nose into Loki's face.

"That's the only way to save them. I owe you a fall, we all owe you a fall. You're meant to be falling," the Mad One proclaimed, holding his arms wide. "Now, off you hop."

He backed up and made a shooing motion towards the edge of the roof.

"Snipers and Dark Elves," the Mad One added. "I've got people on all your so called friends. The Solider Out of Time, the Monster, the Annoying Nat, the Hawk…"

Loki glared at the Mad One, hating everything about him.

"Oh, and you suddenly like Jane Foster! Oh, she'll be easy to take care of as she's right in the heart of the action because she's trying to save the uni-i-i-i-i-i-verse," the Mad One mockingly drawled. "They all fail to realize you can do it by falling off this roof. So, off you go. Fall off the roof like a good boy."

Loki got up onto the ledge, still glaring at the Mad One, who smiled largely and began to whistle some tune Loki vaguely recognized but was unable to place. He turned away from the Mad One and looked downwards towards the calm street. That was strange. Why were these streets so serene if Thor and Malekith were having an epic battle a few blocks away?

"Come on! I don't have all day! Go get your broken crown!" the Mad One shouted over the sound of the wind that suddenly picked up from behind, flapping Loki's greatcoat around his legs. The dark curls that adored Loki's head for some reason blew in his eyes.

Loki gulped.

"Oh, look, Steve's here," the Mad One said, appearing next to Loki and leaning over the edge, a dented, tarnished, golden, cracked crown in his left hand clanking against the brickwork of the ledge. Loki frowned when he saw the beat up, broken crown. It felt familiar, yet not. "Do you want to play catch?"

"_I'll never wear your broken crown,_" Loki snapped.

"Ah, but _our choices seal our fate,"_ the Mad One sung out, leaping gracefully up to stand next Loki. He shoved the broken crown onto Loki's head and pushed him off the roof.

Loki was falling.

Steve screamed.

Or maybe it was Loki?

* * *

_Time is waiting / We only got four minutes to save the world / No hesitating / We only got four minutes, huh, four minutes_

_-Madonna, featuring Justin Timberlake, Timberland, "4 Minutes"_

* * *

"Are they all set up?"

"Yes, Jane," came voices from next to her and over her cell phone where she was connected to Darcy and Jim (who they'd luckily run into). Jane glanced over at Eric, who was rubbing his hands together while looking around at the chaos.

"All right. Let's do this."

Jane slide her phone back into her pocket and took the slapped together display in her hand, turning the button.

Nothing happened.

Jane cursed darkly.

"What's it supposed to do?" Romanov asked flatly.

Jane glanced at the redhead and saw that she looked outwardly appeared unfazed by the battle raging in front of them, yet her fingers were twitching slightly every now and then.

"Well, it's supposed to make a portal appear at what I'm pointing at and move whatever's there," Jane said, frustration growing. She turned the knob again and a group of Dark Elves who'd just spotted them vanished instantly. "Yeah!"

"You should go fight," Eric said to Romanov. "Jane and I will be fine. It works."

Romanov looked as if she was going to argue when her hand suddenly shot up and she stopped a spear from impaling her in the head. She looked deadly as she threw it back at the Dark Elf who'd thrown it at her.

It hit its mark.

"Don't die," Romanov ordered, pulling her guns out and launching herself into battle.

"Let's go. We need to get closer to Malekith and Thor and get the Arc Reactor to him," Jane reminded Eric, turning the knob again to dispatch another group of Dark Elves.

"Yes, Jane, let's go," Eric said, sounding as if he honestly wanted to wade into the battle raging all around them between the Dark Elves and anything that moved. (Mostly cars at the moment.)

* * *

_At the curtains' call, it's the last of all / When the lights fade out, all the sinners crawl / So they dug your grave and the masquerade will come calling out at the mess you've made_

_-Imagine Dragons, "Demons"_

* * *

Loki was cold. Why was he cold? Loki didn't get cold. He was a freakishly short Frost Giant. (Ironic, really, as he always thought he was short. Little did he know he was REALLY a midget. Oh, wait, little person. Must be political correct for his chosen home world— even if he was the farthest thing from a little person on Mid—Earth. He was taller than average on Earth.)

"My son?"

Loki tried to open to his eyes, but nothing met them if they were indeed open. Darkness stretched, black as ink and as thick as wool.

"Paint a picture, Lo," another voice said.

"Jessica?"

"Paint!" she urged.

Shaking his head, he felt around blindly, but found nothing to paint with.

"Use your fingers, you idiot."

"I am not an idiot."

"Yeah, you are."

"Jessica," chided the first voice.

"Mother? Aren't you dead?"

"Dude, Lo, just paint so we can see."

That was an odd request. Painting so they could see. Would he be able to see after he figure out how to paint with his fingers?

Waving his hand randomly, a shot of color appeared. Stunned, he stopped moving for a moment, till Jess urged him to continue. He waved his hands, at the same time, and color shot out, painting the area in vivid colors. Green grass formed, a blood red sky, and two golden figures appeared before him.

"Why are you gold?" he inquired.

"We're not demons," Jessica replied as if Loki was stupid. "Duh."

"Hush," Mother chided, giving Jess fond look. One Loki had been on the receiving end when he'd pulled one of his pranks that his mother secretly found amusing, yet was not supposed to be entertained.

"Mother?" Loki asked, trying not to get his hope up that it was really her under all the gold.

"It is I, Loki," she said, smiling to reveal golden teeth. Everything about her was gold, as if she was a moving statue.

"Where are we?" Loki asked, looking around with interest.

"It's what you made it," Jessica announced, twisting her golden hair around her golden finger. "You might want to escape before Thanos finds you."

Loki felt his insides shrivel and die. He realized he knew where he was: the safe haven he sent his mind whilst he was in the company of the Other and Thanos before they'd broken him.

Then Thanos had broken him and it was no longer safe.

Why was he here now?

"He will find you, dear heart," Mother informed him. "Especially when you leave your mind here to rot."

"I don't know why I'm here. If I could leave, I would. Quickly."

"Oh, look, a broken crown!" Jessica exclaimed, picking up something off the ground. Loki moved forward a bit to see what she had in her hands. It was a tarnished, golden, jewel encrusted crown that was cracked. It looked familiar. "You don't wanna wear a broken one do you?"

"I do not want a crown. I never did," Loki said softly. He eyed the crown with distrust.

"No matter what we creed, we are still made of greed," Mother reminded him. "When you fell from grace, you were full of greed."

"Grief, Mother. I was filled with grief. I didn't want the crown, I didn't want anything other than Father's love and to be Thor's equal."

"And you were greedy for it," Mother said. "Don't get too close."

"She's right, dude," Jess said, putting on the broken crown. "You broke Asgard."

"I did not."

"Asgard is stale," Mother sighed. "So stale and blood drenched in golden mistakes."

"I saved Jane," Loki announced. "Didn't she live through her ordeal with the Aether?"

"I do not know. We're in your head. Hiding from demons."

Loki knitted his eyebrows together in confusion. He still did not understand why he was hiding from the Mad Titian in his head. He'd fought against the wishes of Thanos throughout his time on Midgard and sabotaged the entire operation from start. Loki had gained his freedom from the Mad Titian thanks to Bruce's Hulk smashing him into the floor of Stark's Malibu home. And, if what his mother said was true, Thanos was still able to find him. He wasn't safe, especially if he was in this place.

"You'll need to battle your way out of here. Wherever here is," Jessica said, looking up at the blood red sky as it turned darker. "Whoops. Here comes the titan."

Loki froze as the sky turned from red to a dark shade of purple and his worst nightmare appeared right before his eyes.

"Ah, godling," boomed Thanos, removing a black helmet dripping in blood. "Here with two saints— or who you believe to be saints."

"I ain't no saint, dude," Jessica offered. "You're hiding in his head still, aren't you?"

"Why ever would I leave my godling? I promised him pain. Emotional, physical, mental— name it I will cast it upon his head for his fall. I'll pull the flesh from his bone, stifle the air in his lungs…all because he dreamed of a throne, a broken crown upon his head."

"They weren't my dreams," Loki insisted. "I never wanted the crown. I never wished to rule Midgard!"

"Freedom is but a lie, breathe it in and out," Thanos said in a sing-song voice. "Right, Man of Fury?"

Loki startled to find a horrible version of Nick Fury standing at Thanos' feet. He was drenched in blood, dirt, and grim. His eye patch was missing and there was a gaping, bloody hole. He gave a rather sick smile.

"Freedom is a lie," Fury's mouth moving as if on a hinge. His hand jerked up and he motioned to the crown sitting crooked on Jess's head. "Wear the crown, Loki. Wear the crown."

"Loki, do not listen. Here, take this," his mother's voice said from his right side.

Something was thrust into his hands. Looking down he found he was holding a silver shield. It appeared to be Steve's Captain America shield only lacking any of the patriotic paint. Without thinking, he mounted it on his arm.

"That won't do," Thanos said, knocking Fury upside the head and sending the ragdoll man off to the side. "He was just a doll. Shall I make your worst nightmares come true, now?"

The green grass faded into deep blue and turned to ice. Loki slipped backwards in his attempt to scramble back towards the grass. He got his balance only to find a group of Frost Giants were creeping towards him. They wore rage, death, and anger in their eyes. Thanos let out a loud laugh and began tossing a blood red stone in his hands.

"Trap it in a crystal, they said. It'll be safe, they said," a mocking voice said from the shadows creeping up from behind.

Loki whirled around to find himself face to face with Sif of all people.

"Oh, don't look so surprised," she scoffed, shoving him. "You're a fool and someone needs to tell you. Who better than me? I do not breathe lies."

"What else am I supposed to capture something I don't understand in?" a voice that sounded oddly like Stark's shouted. "It's magic, crystals are magical!"

"They are," Loki agreed, turning in circles trying to find the source of the voice.

Thanos laughed, still tossing the red gem in his huge, purple hand.

"It won't be safe," Sif insisted.

"What am I supposed to do! Loki's dying, Stark!" shouted the other voice, sounding far away. "All he said was he needed a Arc Reactor! Why'd you send me a god damn crystal?"

"That is not yours," Sif proclaimed, grabbing the crown off Jess's head and chucking it in the direction of the voice. "Wear not a broken crown and do not resign yourself to the darkness. Your values, tragically, are not shot."

"LOKI!" shouted another voice.

Loki grabbed at his hair, somehow not whacking himself in the head with the shield strapped to his arm.

"Throw it," Sif advised. "I don't like you, but I don't wish you dead when you aided Thor and Asgard against the Dark Elves and the Darkness they wish to bring upon us all."

"I'm dead!" Loki exclaimed.

"WAKE UP!" boomed the voice. "OH, GOD, PLEASE WAKE UP! I NEED YOU, LO!"

"Why is he shouting?"

Sif shrugged. "What other demons do you wish to wait for? Heimdall? Laufey? The Other? That mad version of yourself?"

"God, no," Loki shuddered.

"Throw that thing and get back to your love," Sif said, studying her nails for a moment. "The longer you dwell here, the closer the Frost Giants will come and the more Thanos will pull himself to you in your moment of weakness."

"I can do it with him anytime, not just whilst he's here," Thanos grumbled, though he appeared to be pouting.

That was strange.

Then again, this entire event was bizarre.

"Clean up this mess you've made," Sif ordered, pulling down a mask over her face and suddenly looking like a Frost Giant— a short one.

Loki whacked her with the shield before he realized what he was doing. She shattered into a million pieces and his heart felt lighter. Darkness continued to creep into the landscape, but Loki continued to break Frost Giants into millions of glass. They cut his skin, pain rippling through the areas they touched, but Loki did not give up, fighting his way towards a bright light that had appeared in the sky.

"You will not make it, godling," Thanos boomed from behind him.

Shattering the last Frost Giant, Loki said, "I will."

"I LOVE YOU," boomed the male voice that has no face.

"I'm done with this," Loki proclaimed, throwing the broken crown that appeared in his hands. "I will not wear a broken crown! Or any crown! I need not a throne! You cannot tempt me!"

Loki threw the shield, which sliced through the gathering darkness and shattered Thanos into a millions of pieces of purple glass shards. Covering his face with his hands, Loki hurried towards the light in the sky, throwing himself at it before it went out.

* * *

_And we're slipping off the course that we prepared / But in all the chaos, there is calculation_

_-Lorde, "Glory and Gore"_

* * *

Jane came skidding halt, almost falling forward as Eric ran into her. Thor and Malekith were locked in battle in the courtyard the Elf Ship of Doom had landed (or embedded itself in the grass). Jane grabbed the portal making remote and glanced up at the sky. Last time she'd looked, the Nine Realms were almost aligned. It was a breath taking sight (one she hoped something was recording so she could study the readings and images at a later date when she wasn't trying to save the world). Looking up now, she let out a cheer.

"Eric! We did it! He missed his chance!" Jane exclaimed as she saw the Nine Realms slowly vanish one at a time as they went on their way out of alignment. "He miss his window!"

"The Aether cannot be destroyed!" Malekith bellowed, redirecting Jane's attention.

"Oh, I know," Thor said dangerously. "But, you can."

Jane stood at the ready to send anyone who might interfere with Thor and the the Arc Reactor with the Magical Unknown Crystal off through a portal to wherever. (Romanov had managed to get the Arc Reactor to Thor at some point, as when Jane tried she'd failed to have it. Thor shouted Romanov had given it to him, then promptly vanished as Malekith body slammed him through a portal.)

Thor whacked Malekith with the hammer, sending him backwards into his own ship. Jane lost track of the pair as they suddenly vanished from sight again. They reappeared suddenly right in front of her, causing her and Eric to crash to the ground. The remote flew out of Jane's hand and she screamed. She turned onto her stomach in order to crawl towards it, but something exploded and she covered her head instead.

After a few moment she realized it was almost silent. She looked up and saw Thor embedded in the grassy area in front of the Elf Ship of Doom, next to him the Arc Reactor. She scrambled to her feet and hurried over to Thor. He was unconscious. She shook him a few times, glancing at the Arc Reactor. Instead of being blue, or white, or some color that looked safe, it was blood red and pulsing angrily.

"It worked," Jane breathed, still trying to shake Thor awake. "He was right. Loki was right! Thor! Wake up!"

A loud creaking made Jane glance upward.

The Elf Ship of Doom had chosen to smash her and Thor into the ground.

Oh, wasn't that just great?

"Thor!" Jane bellowed, getting to her feet and trying to drag the man by his arm out of harm's way.

She knew it was stupid, as she was a tiny, little, weak mortal and Thor was an Asgardian strong man, but she couldn't let him be smashed by the space ship.

"Thor!" she pleaded, tugging on his arm fruitlessly.

"Jane!" someone shouted from behind.

"Come on!" Jane pleaded as the ship began to tilt forward faster. "Bloody hell."

She threw herself fruitlessly on top of Thor to protect him. While she might die, maybe her protecting his head would save him. The world, no wait, the universe needed Thor more than it needed her and her crazy crackpot theories.

The Elf Ship of Doom never fell.

There was no crushing blow.

Slowly, Jane lifted herself off of Thor's head to find the ship was gone. She sat up further to find a maniacally laughing Eric holding the portal remote.

"It worked!" he crowed.

Jane let out a sigh of relief.

"What happened? Did it work?" Thor asked, stirring under Jane.

Jane scrambled off the God of Thunder and picked up the Arc Reactor, which pulsed even more in her hand.

"Uh, yeah. Here."

It gave her a funny feeling. She wanted it to be elsewhere.

"Best get that off Earth," Romanov said, appearing out of nowhere.

Romanov actually looked ruffled and battle worn, which Jane found oddly pleasing to see from the usual pristine agent.

"Aye. I will, Lady Natasha," Thor rumbled, looking at the Arc Reactor with a slight frown.

"We want Doctor Selvig and your brother…sane," Romanov added, watching as Eric pirouetted in a pants removing dance, laughing mentally. Romanov pressed her lips together.

"Aye. I will go back to Asgard," Thor said getting to his feet.

"You'll be back?" Jane asked, allowing Thor to help her to her feet.

"You will report to SHIELD upon your return to let them know where the Aether is," Romanov ordered before going over to Eric, grabbing up his discarded pants on the way. "Doctor Selvig!"

It was strange to see someone as dangerous as Romanov being a wrangler for a crazy scientist.

"I must go. The longer this is on the Earth, the more danger it is likely to bring Eric Selvig and my brother."

Jane nodded. "You won't be long, will you?"

"I will try my best not to be long. However…if you remember, I committed treason to get you out of Asgard. I will have to face my father's wrath," Thor sadly said, yet there was a note of commitment in his tone that told Jane he knew he deserved whatever his father did to him.

Jane frowned. "Your friends too?"

Thor nodded. "Correct. I'm not even sure Heimdall will be able to open the Bifrost to me. He committed treason by not telling Father what we were up to."

"Will, uh, your father leave Loki here?"

"He is mortal," Thor reminded Jane, sadness almost tangible. "Father will…leave Loki here for the rest of his days. Mortals are not allowed in Asgard. You were the exception due to the Aether in your system."

"What about Steve? He's been to Asgard," Jane pointed out.

Thor frowned, looking a bit surprised. "He is not fully mortal."

"Like me when I had the Aether in me," Jane said, the cogs in her head turning as she thought about it.

"Jane, I must go."

"You'll be back soon? Loki's going to—"

"I will return as soon as I am able," Thor promised, kissing Jane's hand before pulling her in for a proper kiss.

* * *

_I feel it in my soul / The stars were burning so bright / The sun was out 'till midnight / I say we lose control_

_-American Authors, "Best Day of My Life"_


	6. The Stage is Set For You

**Disclaimer: I do now own any of the Marvel characters. Nor do I own _Thor: The Dark World_, screenplay by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely; story by Don Payne and Robert Rodat. If you know it, I do not own it.**

* * *

**_The Stage is Set for You_**

* * *

_Walking to the sound of my favorite tune / Tomorrow never knows what it doesn't know soon / Need a little time to wake up_

_-Oasis, "Morning Glory"_

* * *

The first few times Loki awoke, he had no idea where he was or why. He was haunted by dreams and reality each time he opened his eyes and he wasn't sure which was better. Or which was which. Each one caused him torment.

This time when he awoke, though, the pain was tolerable and no one was saying anything bizarre. There was simply a steady beeping noise Loki knew was a heart monitor.

"Loki?"

Loki groggily turned his head towards the voice. There was discomfort in his midsection, but it was easy ignore. However, the dryness in his throat was harder.

"Here, let's sit you up a bit."

Loki moved into a somewhat seated position slowly. He felt it in his gut, which was mildly unpleasant.

"Sorry," the voice apologized. "Here, water. They took the tube out this morning. Your throat is going to be sore."

That was an understatement.

Loki blindly took the straw offered to him and sucked down a few sips. He wanted to gulp the entire glass down, but it hurt too much. He coughed weakly.

"Sorry," the voice said again.

"Stop apologizing you oaf," Loki grated out through gravel.

There was a long pause, then, "I don't think you've called me that before. Loki, do you know who I am?"

Loki peeled his eyes open fully and peered at the blur next to him. He blinked a few times before the person came into focus.

"Steven," Loki croaked.

Steve looked utterly relieved. "Yeah. You usually call Thor an oaf."

"He is," Loki agreed. "Where is he? What happened? Did they manage—"

"Hey, hey, hey," Steve soothed, reaching out, yet stopping short of actually touching Loki. "I'll tell you the whole story, but try not to speak too much. Your throat is still raw and I'm going to have to call the nurse in. I was told to call them when you woke up for real this time. We've had a few false starts. But, before I do that, I'm going to have to tell you something and please don't get mad, okay?"

Loki made his confusion plain on his face, as facial expressions were the best way to communicate, as words grated his throat.

"You're, uh, human now, you know that, right?"

Loki donned a bored look and rolled his eyes.

"Okay, so because of that, Jane thought it was best to take you to a local hospital here in London after you guys came back from, uh, wherever the Dark Elves live."

Loki nodded, wishing he had the energy to move his hand for Steve to hurry up.

"Anyways, by the time SHIELD found out, it was too late to intercept, so you're in a…well, normal people hospital. Like people who don't, well, no one knows you're Loki here. You're Luke."

Loki rolled his eyes. He pointedly looked at Steve to get to the point.

"Okay, so, uh, Jim…you know Jim Nicholls?"

Loki gave Steve a withering stare.

"Yeah, okay, so he knew I'd want to be here with you and they needed Thor, and everyone knows who Thor is anyways, but not who you really are, so he made, uh, me, er…"

Steve turned a brilliant shade of scarlet and Loki frowned.

"We're married as far as the hospital is concerned," Steve blurted out, turning even redder and knotting his hands together in his lap.

Loki blinked owlishly.

"It was the only way Jim knew I'd be the point of contact and be in charge of your care. Thor can't as the outside world can't know your his brother. I mean, he kept calling you his brother, but I told them he calls everyone his brother. Seeing he's an alien, they bought it…I think."

Loki began to try to move his hand to smack Steve.

Steve searched Loki's face for a long moment, his blush slowly fading away, yet the worry and angst in his eyes remained.

"You're not upset?"

Loki shook his head, his hand making slow, jerky movements towards Steve. Steve caught what Loki was trying to do and quickly unknotted his own hands and looked utterly relieved as he grasp Loki's hand gently.

Not what Loki was going for, but welcome nonetheless.

Why on Earth would Loki be upset that Jim thought it was best to put Steve in charge of his care over his oaf of a brother? Loki was well aware of how Midgardian health care worked in most places and only family were allowed to make decisions and know what was going on with the patient. It made sense to make Steve his family, as Steve was Loki's family, his home.

"Oh," Steve breathed quietly, staring at Loki's pale hand in his tan one. "Okay. We're not really married. SHIELD just made some paper work appear and the hospital here thinks you're named Luke Rogers, formerly Laufey-Odinson."

Loki felt a smile on his face form without his consent. Steve looked bewildered. Loki made a feeble attempt to squeeze Steve's hand. Steve looked down and let out a short breath. He grabbed something off the table.

"Okay, well, I just wanted to warn you they're going to call you Mr Rogers," Steve said. "I'm going to call the nurse. Try to stay awake, okay? After she comes you can go back to sleep."

Loki gave Steve another withering glare, but he was getting tired. Who knew listening was exhausting?

* * *

_Well, there's blood in these veins and I cry when in pain / I'm only human on the inside / And if looks can deceive, make it hard to believe / I'm only human on the inside_

_-The Pretenderes, "Human"_

* * *

Jane let herself into the hospital room. Loki had been moved into his own private room (likely care of SHEILD) and was now allowed visitors that weren't Steve.

Jane peered around the door to find Steve fast asleep in the chair next to Loki's bed, but Loki was wide awake and tapping away on a StarkPad. He looked up from the glow of the pad when the door creaked and gave her a quirk of his eyebrow as a greeting. Jane smiled in return and slunk into the room, trying to be quiet as not to wake the exhausted super solider.

"I hear you've been awake for a few days now," Jane whispered, coming to stand on the other side of the bed.

"Correct," Loki replied in normal volume. "He won't wake. He is exhausted." A smirk appeared but quickly vanished. "I charmed a nurse into slipping him a sleeping pill. He hasn't slept in days."

Loki frowned, looking over at Steve.

"He was worried."

"I know."

Jane shifted on her feet a little. "So, uh, how are you?"

Loki slowly turned back towards Jane and looked up at her. His eyes were still that unearthly green shade that Jane had never witnessed on a human before, but his face was so different. She wasn't sure what it was, but Loki looked older. There were lines and creases on his handsome face that once hadn't been there and he looked battered and exhausted.

"As well as I can be under the circumstances," Loki replied, looking back at the StarkPad. "Steven told me you were able to get Stark hand over an old Arch Reactor without needing to sign away your lives."

"Yeah. It arrived just in time. Oh, and Doctor Banner sent along this crystal that was able to contain the Aether. Though, it wasn't very happy about it."

Loki nodded. "Do you happen to know the sort of crystal?"

Jane quirked an eyebrow at him. "You haven't hacked into SHIELD yet to get the answer?"

Loki smirked, looking more like his old self. "Oh, I did. I was wondering if they told you."

"No, I don't know what sort of crystal."

Loki hummed. "Nor does SHIELD."

Jane gave Loki a confused look.

"Doctor Banner was in charge of caring for our plants whilst we were away," Loki explained, tapping the screen of the StarkPad with a long, pale finger. "I happened to have a few magical crystals in the apartment. He apologized greatly for taking it, but he felt compelled to examine it closer. Luckily, he did take it as it was perfect for short term transport of the Aether."

Jane nodded. "So, it wasn't just some random crystal?"

Loki shook his head. "No. It was a magical I had spelled for someone to take in an emergency."

"So, uh, Doctor Banner took it because he knew you were in danger?"

"No. He took it because he was aware of what was going on in London and knew it could come to no good," Loki said, his fingers ceasing their tapping. "Now, Jane dear, why have you come? Not just to see how I am, I fear."

Jane pressed her lips together.

"You do not like me," Loki reminded her.

"I think the fact you saved my life a few times back on the Dark World and then tried to help save the world as you were dying kind of cancels out my past dislike of you," Jane explained. "Also, I didn't like you before because I convinced you'd go all…crazy and try to take over the world again."

Loki hummed and continued to gaze at her, knowing there was more to it.

"The Aether let me see why you wound up doing what you did," Jane quietly admitted. "While I was in Asgard. When I got mad at Odin for lying to me. I was a magical lie sector."

Loki looked impressed. "Ah, that explains why you so easily followed me when I arrived in Asgard."

Jane nodded. "Exactly."

"How did you not see that I was lying on the Dark World when I betrayed Thor?"

"Because you didn't. You were simply following the plan you and Thor came up with."

Loki turned away from Jane and gazed out the window at the falling rain. It'd been raining in London since the whole Convergence thing had occurred.

"I hear I missed a berserker," Loki said, changing the subject to the most recent out of a fairy tale real life event to transpire on Earth. Jane had had little to do with the whole ordeal, but had witnessed Coulson and his rag-tag team run around, scrambling to get the situation under control.

"Oh, yeah. That was fun. You should ask Jim about it," Jane suggested, smiling she remembered how frazzled Jim was throughout the ordeal.

Loki tapped the screen a few more times. "It's been quite awhile since Asgard has used berserkers."

"Er, yeah. Evidently, there was one hanging out here from the last time Asgard used them," Jane said. "Tiny little man."

Loki laughed. "Yes, not everyone towers over us mortals."

Jane was amazed he uttered the sentence without any disgust. He sounded perfectly fine with being a mortal.

"Loki, how…"

"How am I handling being a mortal?" Loki sweetly asked, turning back to Jane. "Quite well. I knew what was going to happen the moment I saw what Mother had handed me, Jane Foster. And I knew, with my luck, it would not end with me regaining my magic or even returning to my former magically bound state. I'd either be dead or mortal."

Loki glanced over at the sleeping Captain America, who let out a rather unattractive snore as he shifted his position in the chair, before looking back at Jane.

"I will grow old," Loki stated. "While I know now I will age faster than Steven will, it will be more natural than if I was to remain as I was before."

"Steve's not exactly mortal, is he?"

"Steven is human. More so than many," Loki replied, clear fondness in his tone. "However, I do believe the serum they gave him has extended his life and slowed the aging process. It made him more on the level of an Asgardian, so Asgard accepted him when he visited. I knew it would."

"You did?"

Loki nodded, but didn't further explain how he'd known. Jane had a feeling it was something connected to his magic, hence why he didn't wish to speak of it at the moment.

"Recovery as a human is slow," Loki complained, glaring down at his midsection. "Frustratingly slow."

Jane couldn't help the chuckle that escaped. "Yeah, well, you're doing it faster than most I've heard."

Loki smirked. "Yes. Those healing stones helped quite a bit and befuddled the doctors to no end I hear."

"Well, you did show up in Thor's arms and dressed in bloody Asgardian gear, didn't they explain it away as something he did?"

"They did," Loki agreed. "And since he's gone, they'll never find out exactly what he did."

"Nope."

Loki looked down at his lap and fiddled with the edge of the bed sheet.

"Is he returning?"

"He said he would."

Loki nodded.

"He also said he was going to be in trouble with Odin for breaking me out of Asgard," Jane reminded Loki.

"Ah, but he is the golden son, Jane Foster," Loki said, a hint of bitterness in his tone. "Also, Odin has no other heir now that I am mortal. Best keep the one he has."

Jane frowned. "Oh."

"Thor will return," Loki assured her. "He is much too fond of you to stay away long."

Jane blushed a little and lightly slapped Loki's shoulder. Loki smirked. Jane was about to ask him another question when she heard thunder rumble. Both looked towards the window to see a rainbow light pour out of the sky.

"Ah, he's here. Best run down to meet him. Have your epic, Hollywood ending kiss," Loki teased. When their eyes met, she saw something she hadn't seen in his eyes since she'd been swept off to Asgard: mischief.

She smiled at him, squeezed his shoulder lightly, and hurried away. She flew through the hallways, bypassing the elevator in exchange for the stairs. By the time she reached the lobby, Thor was busy being confused by the nurse at the front desk. The nurse, who looked shell shocked at the sight of Thor in his armor, kept shaking her head.

"Thor!" Jane called out, skidding across the slippery floor towards the tall blond.

"Jane!" Thor greeted in return, catching Jane before she fell.

Before they could exchange any other words, their mouths crushed together. It seemed like forever since they'd kissed properly and Jane couldn't image a better greeting than the one she was getting.

When they broke apart, Jane was breathless, but she couldn't wipe the smile off her face. Thor smiled softly down at her and set her feet back on the ground.

"Jane, it's good to see you once again."

"You too. Lo…er, Luke's awake and going to recover," Jane said, answering the question she knew was pressing on Thor's mind.

Thor looked relieved.

"I'll take you upstairs now. He can accept visitors now," Jane said, weaving her fingers through Thor's and tugging him towards the elevator.

Thor quietly filled Jane in on what had occurred in Asgard (his father didn't punish him, but instead offered him the throne, which Thor had turned down because he knew he wasn't ready for that responsibility yet) and by the time they were nearing Loki's room, Jane was anxious to ask what Odin had done with the Aether.

"Jane?" Thor questioned as they approached the door. "How is Loki?"

"You mean mentally?"

Thor gravely nodded, tightening is grip on her hand a little.

"He's, well, dealing really well, actually," Jane admitted.

Thor looked doubtful.

"He said he knew what he was getting into," Jane offered. "And now he will age more at Steve's pace."

Thor's face cleared suddenly and he chuckled. "Ah, love."

Jane quirked a smile. "Yeah. Make us mortals do silly things."

"Makes everyone do silly things," Thor quietly said. "This is his room?"

Jane nodded. "Want me to stay outside?"

"Why?"

"So you can speak to him alone."

"Is Captain Rogers not with Loki?"

"Oh, he is, but, uh, he's sleeping," Jane explained. "And won't wake up, as Loki charmed a nurse into drugging him so he'd sleep. Steve hadn't slept in days, I guess."

Thor quirked his eyebrows and laughed. An honest to goodness laugh.

"That is good to hear," Thor said. "Well, not that he had Captain Rogers drugged without his knowledge, but that Loki is still himself."

"Yeah, I guess the silver tongue aspect of his personality wasn't magical."

"No. Twas not, Jane. It is all his own doing."

"I'll, uh, go get coffee. He was in a pretty good mood when I left him, so…"

"Alright."

Jane nodded and hurried off towards the cafeteria.

* * *

_Written on these walls are the colors that I can't change / Leave my heart open but it stays right here in its cage_

_-One Direction, "Story of My Life" _

* * *

"Loki?"

"Thor."

Thor poked his head further into the room, his sapphire eyes sweeping over the small, private chamber before coming to rest once more on Loki.

"Come in. I do not have all day, Brother," Loki sighed, setting the StarkPad aside.

Thor entered the room and closed the door quietly.

"I heard you used your silver tongue to allow Captain Rogers some rest," Thor said, walking rather quietly to the side of the bed.

Not for the first time, Loki really wished he had the ability to magically make another chair appear. He was going to get a cramp in his neck from staring up at Thor. Thor realized this and sat on the floor.

"I'm not sure how clean that floor is," Loki remarked instead of commenting on his use of his skills to drug his partner. Looking downward now, Loki took in the curious sight of the Crown Prince of Asgard sitting on the floor of a mortal hospital.

Thor shrugged.

"So, what did Od—Father punish you with for your treason?"

The word _father_ felt as if it were stuck on his tongue with sticky toffee, but Loki still managed to get it out without feeling that well of anger, rage, and heartbreak he usually felt around Odin and speaking of him.

Thor looked a bit sheepish and explained that Odin had not punished him at all, but instead said he was ready to be king in his own right and offered him the throne.

Loki's eyebrows flew into his hairline.

"You betrayed the crown and he offered to give it to you?"

Thor shrugged, avoiding looking at Loki.

"I take it you did not take this offer?"

"No, Loki. My place is defending the Nine Realms. I'm a warrior, not a leader."

"Thor, you are his only son," Loki pointed out.

"I'm not, but I know what you mean to say," Thor sighed deeply. "Someday I must take up the kingship, but for now, Father is more able to do so."

Loki pressed his lips together. "This is to do with Jane, does it not? There was a time you were anxious for the throne."

"I was a fool then, Loki. A big fool," Thor admitted, knotting his hands together and looking at the floor. He seemed smaller, almost childlike. Loki found he did not like it. "I…I'm not sure I can be king without you by my side as an advisor."

"You must."

"I know. Why Loki?" Thor asked, looking up. His eyes were filled with emotions Loki did not want to name. "Why did you use the cuff?"

"Mother gave it to me," Loki stated.

Thor gave him a challenging look. Loki sighed and looked away. He studied the sleeping Steve for a moment before speaking again.

"She asked me to save Asgard," Loki softly explained. "She said it was stagnant and needed change. She did not outright say it, but she hinted that Jane was this change. Mother also said Asgard needed trickery. Little did I realize you would supply most of it."

Thor snorted. Loki turned back towards his brother, studying the large man sitting on the ground.

"Trickery is what we used to defeat Malekith. Both on Earth and on the Dark World. It worked quite well," Thor admitted.

"I know. You've surprised me, Brother. There was a time you'd say it was a coward who used tricks in battle."

"I have seen the errors of my ways, Loki. You've figured that out, have you not?"

Thor's eyes twinkled and Loki tried to keep his expression schooled to hide his utter shock.

"Mother was right. Asgard is stagnant and in need of change," Thor agreed. "Midgard changes quickly and swiftly. And the master of trickery is here. Who best to learn all the tricks of the trade than from him?"

Loki felt dizzy.

Thor struggled to get to his feet. "I'll allow you to rest, Brother, as you are looking a little weary."

"Wait, what did Fa—Od—Father do with the Aether?"

Thor got to his feet and regarded Loki for a moment before saying, "He sent it to the Collector."

"The Collector?"

"Yes. He is no friend of the Mad Titian. Father felt it was not wise to have two Infinity Stones that close together," Thor said, pressing his lips together.

"Did he put it in a new container?"

"Yes. Father gave me the Arc Reactor to return to Stark," Thor said, putting his hand on a pouch at his hip. "I will return to visit further with you tomorrow."

Thor clapped Loki on the shoulder, smiled, and left before Loki could ask any further questions, or wrap his mind around fully that Thor had complimented Loki on his use of tricks and magic. For almost his entire lifetime, Loki had been belittled for his tricks, his magic, his very being.

Now he was without his magic. His stomach twisted and he clenched his hands together. He reopened his hands and stared at the now useless things.

He kept telling everyone he was fine with being mortal and for the most part he was— the Mad One was another story. He was, well, mad. More so than usual. For most of Loki's life, he had been defined by his magic and in return it defined who he had thought of himself.

He was never going to have access to magic again. The whole getting old and dying did not bother Loki in the least— the fact he'd never cast another spell was worse than death.

"Lo?" a groggy voice asked. "What the heck happened?"

Loki looked over at his partner, who was rubbing his face with both hands and struggling to wake up.

"Why do I feel so…blarg?"

Loki chuckled, pushing his troubles aside. "Oh, Steven, you were drugged."

"Huh?"

Loki smiled a small smile at Steve as the other man let his hands fall into his lap. Steve studied Loki for a moment before he groaned and slouched in the chair again, arms flopping to his sides.

"You sweet talked a nurse, didn't you?"

"You refused to sleep, darling. I can't have my caregiver succumbing to sleep deprivation, can I?"

"Loki—"

"They are going to release me in a few days time," Loki reminded Steve. "I will not be a hundred percent, but I'd like you at a hundred percent and you refused to sleep."

Steve gave Loki a scolding look. Loki blandly stared back till Steve sighed again and ran a hand through his hair.

"Don't do that again," Steve ordered, his Captain America persona seeping into his usual tone.

"Don't refuse to sleep again."

"What did you drug?"

"That horrid coffee you were drinking," Loki replied. "And due to your metabolism, you only slept for four hours."

Loki pouted. Steve rolled his eyes.

"I'll go back to the hotel tonight and sleep," Steve promised, pulling out his mobile phone. He frowned at it a moment, before tapping the screen.

"Good. What is it?"

"Was Thor here?" Steve asked.

"Yes. Who texted you?"

"I didn't dream that up?"

"Dream what up?"

"That Thor was sitting on the floor."

"Oh, that. No. That happened. He also informed me he was going to learn trickery from me. Now, who sent you a message that made the crease appear and deepen between your eyes?"

Steve finally looked up and tried to smooth out his forehead.

He failed.

"Director Fury wants me to relocate to Washington DC. He's got a long term assignment for me that requires me to be in the capital."

Loki pouted. "We just moved into our apartment in New York."

"I know. But, we kind of have to go," Steve sighed, frowning and deepening that wrinkle between his eyes again. He looked back down at his phone. "I have to meet Fury in two hours. He'll give me more details."

"You said _we have to go_. I am not a member of SHEILD."

"I'm not moving to DC for a year without you," Steve said, looking at Loki as if he were mental.

* * *

_Some people need three dozen roses / And that's the only way to prove you love them / Hand me the world on a silver platter and what good would it be with no one to share_

_-Alicia Keys, "If I Ain't Got You"_

* * *

"So, you're staying?"

"For as long as you'll have me."

"Forever?"

"That is a long time, Jane."

"Well, yeah," Jane admitted, feeling her cheeks heat up. "But, uh, we can, uh…date and stuff."

"Date and stuff?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. How does one date and stuff?"

"Well, first you need to ask me out to dinner. That's the date," Jane explained.

"Where would we go for dinner? I do not know London. Or your world."

"Okay. I'll plan our first date."

"Alright. Jane, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What is the purpose of a date?"

"Er….to get to know one another?"

"Do we not know one another?"

"Not really. I mean, well, we know one another…but…"

"We could know one another better?"

"Exactly. I'll make reservations at this place I know. If it's still standing. You might have knocked it down or ruined the windows," Jane realized as she turned to head out into the hospital parking lot. "But, that's fine. Darcy knows lots of places to eat around London. She enjoys dating."

"She likes to get to know people, yes. I can see that."

Jane held in a laugh, but shook her head. "Okay, yeah. Let's go, big guy. I've got a city to show you."

"I saw it. From various angles I doubt anyone has."

"Yeah, just rub that in, will ya? So, what'd your father do with the Aether?"

Jane listened anxiously as Thor told her exactly what Odin had done with the red substance.

* * *

_And you won't give up the search for the ghosts in the halls / You wear sandals in the snow and a smile that won't wash away_

_-Sarah McLachlan, "Building a Mystery"_

* * *

Jane entered her lab and found Phil Coulson standing alone by one of the scanners looking mildly interested in the readings spewing out.

"Uh, hi?" Jane asked, feeling suspicious.

"Good morning, Doctor Foster," Coulson greeted blandly. "I've not come to steal anything."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I've come to inquire about those healing stones you used on Loki," Coulson said, clasping his hands behind his back and taking a few steps away from the scanner. He finally looked up at her. "The notes on the file claim that whatever you and Thor did before you reached the hospital saved Loki's life."

Jane frowned. "I'm not sure what they are. They honestly look like rocks, only they are crushable. Well, if you're an Asgardian or…well, maybe Steve."

Coulson nodded, his eyes never leaving Jane.

"What is their function?"

"To heal?"

"Heal what? Could I sprinkle one of those on Loki's head and heal all his mental problems? Or are they simply for grievous abdominal wounds?"

"No, they, uh, they are actually mostly used, well, to sustain a massive wound or for, well, cuts and scraps from what I understood," Jane admitted. "I am sure you read the report Thor gave SHEILD."

"I did. And while I can understand why you'd think they'd work better on a human body to heal a massive injury, it does not explain why Loki is recovering at the rate he is, nor why he is currently alive."

"Shouldn't you talk to Thor about healing stones?"

"I did. He told me little more than you," Coulson replied.

He turned his face away from Jane for a beat before turning to face her once again.

"Loki was stabbed clear through the middle. He shouldn't be alive, let alone able to wiggle his toes. He ought to have died on the battle field if he were a mere human being," Coulson stated in his bland voice. "Yet, he was still alive when you and Thor reached the hospital."

"Barely," Jane pointed out. She bit her bottom lip, looking at the patterns in the tile floor. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I didn't think he'd live passed getting him to the hospital. Because you're right. He was stabbed clear through the middle. His spinal cord was likely nicked and he lost a whole lot of blood before Thor smashed up the healing stones. I just…I mostly wanted to get him back here somewhat alive. I didn't want him to die there on that dead world."

"So, you knew there wasn't much hope for him?"

Jane nodded, eyes still glued to the floor. She felt rotten for admitting it, yet she knew it to be true: there was no reason why Loki was alive if he were truly mortal.

"Maybe he's not mortal?" Jane suggested. "I mean, how do you turn an Asgardian, or well, he's a Frost Giant. How do you turn a Frost Giant into a mortal? I mean, yeah, when Thor first showed up he was pretty much mortal, but…he was still, well, Thor."

"Oh, Loki is very mortal. More so than Thor was during his trip to Earth. Unlike passed scans, there is nothing alien about Loki any longer. He's hundred percent human being," Coulson assured her, heading towards the door. "Thank you for your time, Doctor Foster. I'll let you get back to work."

Jane opened and closed her mouth a few times, but got none of her questions out before Coulson was gone.

* * *

_And I am feeling so small / It was over my head / I know nothing at all / I'm still learning to love, just starting to crawl_

_-A Great Big Word, "Say Something" _

* * *

A knock on the door startled Loki to the point he was sure he'd pulled something in his abdomen. Loki wasn't sure who was knocking on his door and not entering, as his usual round of visitors usually knocked as they entered.

"Enter," Loki said when the person knocked again.

Loki watched a head of blond curls appear, followed by a familiar face with bright blue eyes and wearing a striking suit.

"James?"

"Good afternoon. Might I bother you for a moment?"

Loki motioned Jim was free to enter.

"Thank you," Jim said, entering. He turned and locked the door, then stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trousers till he came out with four little black balls, which he did something to before he set one one near the door, one near the window and the other two on the little table that contained the remnants of Loki's lunch.

"What are you doing?"

"I needed to speak to you on your own and the fact that Director Fury wished to speak to Captain Rogers this afternoon seemed like perfect timing."

"What are the little black balls?"

"Something Fitz created to counteract bugs," Jim said, looking as if he wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about.

Loki extended his hand, making a motion he wanted to examine one. Jim handed Loki one and looking it over, Loki knew exactly what the little ball did.

"My hospital room is being eavesdropped upon?"

"I'm not sure…but, Skye seemed to think that SHIELD would want to…know what was said in here…and it seemed like something they'd do. Also, what I want to discuss with you is something I do not wish SHEILD to know."

Loki gave Jim an interested look and leaned back on his hospital bed, motioning for Jim to take the lone chair. Jim looked unsure how to proceed, so Loki wasn't all that surprised what he said next was somewhat random.

"I was shot numerous times."

"And that matters because?"

"For a human, I recovered quickly."

Loki pressed his lips together while Jim tried his hardest not to fidget.

"Cut to the chase, Nicholls. What are you do you wish to speak on?" Loki demanded.

"What do you remember of your time in hospital? Before you woke up in recovery?"

Loki narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"Please, just tell me."

Loki studied Jim. He was anxious, a little worried, and concerned. He was also slightly curious and confused. There was something important, yet strange, Jim wanted to share with Loki.

"Voices," Loki admitted. "I believe they were from shortly after I arrived at the hospital. There were many I did not know, mostly talking about my care, then… I heard a familiar voice. Director Fury."

"What does he sound like?"

Loki frowned. "A man."

Jim ran a hand through his hair, somehow not upsetting the arrangement of curls on his head. "I've never met Director Fury, Mr Laufey-Odinson. But, after I…after Agent Barton and Ms Witton found me in the forest, the next thing I remember is a deep, American accented voice ordering me to be dosed. There was another, somewhat similar voice that responded I'd had enough and I wasn't responding."

Loki pressed his lips together, head sifting through the various things he remembered that didn't fit or were abnormal before he'd awoken and spoken to Steve in the recovery room.

"Then…the pain," Jim shook his head, breaking eye contact and staring at the floor. "There was so much pain and then…I had very strange dreams. Much more strange than the one I had later when I met Joey in the field in France."

"Yes. Much more strange, I would assume," Loki agreed, remembering the vivid nightmares he'd suffered.

"So, you remember voices and then strange visions?"

"Nightmares," Loki corrected. "Call them what they were, James."

Jim nodded. "They weren't horrible, but they weren't pleasant. Most of what I dreamed of was from what I imagined battle would have been if I had lived to see them. Though, there were things that made no sense at all."

"Yes, something similar happened to me."

The two men sat in silence, mulling over what they'd been through.

"James, why did you feel the need to tell me this?"

"I was dead," Jim stated flatly, jaw tightening before he continued. "When I heard the voices, I'd been dead and they'd been unable to revive me. Whatever they'd been trying to do failed and they were going to give up. But, then, I guess whatever they were doing worked."

Jim motioned to himself.

"And after you heard the voices, you remember being in tremendous pain?" Loki inquired.

Jim nodded. "Worst than when I was shot full of holes."

Loki looked away and stared at his hands. He wasn't sure what to make of what Jim was telling him.

"What do you think they did? It's not in any SHIELD record."

Loki gave Jim a curious look and watched the young man blush.

"I might have used my Smile Power to get Skye to explain to me how to hack into SHIELD to see my records"

Loki chuckled. "Nothing to be ashamed of, James. Use your charms and what you have. Why did you have her explain to you how to hack into SHEILD's files?"

"She wears a tracking bracelet for reasons I am not aware. I assume she hacked into something she ought not to and now they do not fully trust her. The bracelet monitors her computer activity."

Loki nodded. "What did you find out?"

"Nothing. There is no record of Director Fury or any SHIELD doctors being at JBER. The only SHEILD employees present were Agents Coulson and Barton. Then later, Captain Rogers, though Captain Rogers wasn't there on behalf of SHIELD."

Loki nodded. "Hand me that StarkPad. I'll hack into SHEILD to see what they have on record for myself. The doctors are rather amazed I am alive, but I'd thought it was due to the healing stones Thor applied before we left the Dark World."

Jim shifted in his seat, but did not pick up the StarkPad. "Thor admitted the healing stones would be unable to repair your spine. They stopped you from bleeding out, no more. There was too much damage, even Thor admitted, for the stones to save your life. He was amazed you remained alive to reach hospital here on Earth. Doctor Foster confirmed this information to Agent Coulson."

"You had Miss Skye aid you to look at more than just your files, hmmm?"

Jim's ears went pink. "Yes, sir. She was curious after we hacked into my files and told me how to get to yours. I'm sorry, sir."

"No need to call me _sir,_" Loki drawled. "Now, what did you find out?"

Jim cleared his throat, producing his StarkPad from somewhere. "Not much, but I do know that the doctors in the A&E when you were brought in didn't think you'd make it. I spoke to them before I left to aid Doctor Foster. Several hospital employees told me someone kicked out all hospital employees. Some American organization brought in their own doctors."

"But, SHEILD did not bring in their own doctors?"

Jim shook his head, extending the StarkPad to Loki. "No. The only interference SHIELD has on record are the papers Agent Coulson agreed to have Skye draw up stating you and Captain Rogers were married."

Jim looked mildly uncomfortable stating this fact, but swallowed and was once more composed. Loki took the StarkPad. He glanced over the copies of his medical records. He glanced at the clipboard at the end of his bed. Without needing to be told, Jim grabbed it and handed it to Loki. Loki looked through both and they were the same. There was nothing on either that stated he'd suffered any spinal injury. The only thing that would raise alarm: the doctors attending to Loki were not directly employed by SHEILD or the hospital. He glanced up once more to find Jim not looking at him but at his shoes.

"You can disapprove, Captain Nicholls. I am aware during your life, homosexual relationships were frowned upon. Illegal, weren't they?"

Jim nodded, a look of frustration appearing on his face. "But, that time has passed."

"Doesn't mean you have to be alright with it," Loki replied.

Jim pressed his lips together and looked out the window at the dreary London skyline. "I want to be okay with it."

"Then all you can do it try," Loki reasoned.

Jim nodded tightly, but did not respond. Loki turned his attention back to the StarkPad and tapped the screen to look at what Jim had found on himself. There was not much. Fury had done a better job at covering his tracks with Jim than Loki.

"SHIELD hasn't been anything but…cordial with me," Jim said, breaking the silence that had fallen in the room. "I do not fancy getting on their bad side, but…"

"This is a puzzle that won't solve itself."

"And I have flashbacks. They're…disturbing."

"More so than the nightmares?"

"Much more. The flashbacks are out of science fiction. The flashbacks did not begin till about a month after I'd been here. The, erm, therapist…"

Loki quirked an eyebrow. "Does your therapist believe you are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder?"

Jim nodded. "Yes. She said it made perfect sense, as many soldiers from World War I suffered the aliment. She said we called it shell shock. Never having heard of it, I researched it, and it seemed to be a blanket phrase used for various injuries sustained during battle. Those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in my time wouldn't have been…well, I do not believe they'd speak of it for fear of being labeled a coward."

"Ah."

"But, I understand that is not so," Jim insisted, looking livid. "War does mess with your mind and from my research, people of my time simply lacked the understanding to realize what was happening. The men weren't cowards, weren't afraid, or lacking character. It's an alignment that needed, no, needs to be treated."

Loki nodded, unsure how to react to Jim's passionate nature when it came to treating soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"You do not believe you have it, do you?"

"I believe to a degree I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, between how I was supposed to die and how I came to live in this world."

Loki nodded his head. From what little he knew of Jim Nicholls, he'd led a rather sheltered life till he was shipped off to France to fight in World War I. While he'd been in the army for quite some time before the outbreak of the war, he'd never seen battle up close. Jim was not a seasoned warrior.

"Do you still have nightmares?"

"Yes."

"You do not take the drugs they prescribe, do you?"

"I stopped when the flashbacks began. They felt…too important to mask with drugs," Jim admitted. "Especially when the flashbacks had nothing to do with the war."

"What do you plan to do?"

Jim smoothed his hands down his pristine trousers, not looking at Loki for a moment before he pierced Loki with his baby blue eyes. "_We_ are going to get to the bottom of this, as I'd like to know why Director Fury has hidden this so…throughly."

"He is a spy. His secrets have secrets."

"True, but what was so important about you and I that he went to these lengths?"

"I am Loki," Loki pointed out with a smirk.

Jim rolled his eyes. "Fine, then me. I'm a member of the British peerage who has been in the British Army since he graduated university, yet never saw a battle till the day I was gunned down who does not exist in this reality. Not to put myself down, but I'm useless."

"You have Smile Power."

Jim gave Loki a look of disgust. "I do not have any magical or mystical powers having to do with my smile. I'm nice. And, alright, I'm not homely. But, Director Fury was not to know any of this passed my physical appearance when he chose to bring me back to life. So, why did he?"

"You were a mystery. You came through a portal," Loki reasoned.

Jim pressed his lips together. "I doubt I was worth the trouble Director Fury went through."

Loki was not going to admit he thought Jim was right: he wasn't worth the effort, as Jim was in fact nothing special. Granted, Director Fury would not have known this when he'd acted. However, if whatever they'd done had failed to work, losing some unknown, maybe worthless person would be worth the information they'd gathered from experimenting on Jim.

"Whatever they did to me worked, so they did it to you. Loki, Director Fury and whoever he's working with have the power to bring people back from the dead."

"Oh," Loki breathed. "Well, that's not good, now is it?"

* * *

_The distance to your home fades away to nowhere / How much are you worth / You can't come down to earth / You're swelling up, you're unstoppable_

_-Muse, "New Born" _

* * *

_A/N: Check out my Tumblr account: scotlandevander at tumbler dot com. I'll update there when I finally start writing the next story, which will hopefully clear up any confusion suffered whilst reading this. Thank you so much for reading, your comments, favorites, adds, etc. It's all appreciated. _


End file.
